Contact probe and probe device

ABSTRACT

A probe device having a contact probe including a film, a plurality of wiring patterns formed on the film with each wiring pattern having a front end portion projecting from the film so as to form contact pins, and a metal layer provided on the film. In one embodiment, the contact probe device includes first and second contact probes connected to each other, the first contact probe including a first film, and a plurality of first wiring patterns formed on the first film, each first wiring pattern having a front end portion projecting from the first film so as to form contact pins. The second contact probe includes a second film, and a plurality of second wiring patterns formed on the second film. The plurality of second wiring patterns are connected to the plurality of first wiring patterns, and the second contact probe is formed separately from the first contact probe.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application 8-128570filed May 23, 1996, Japanese Patent Application 8-259829 filed Sep. 30,1996, Japanese Patent Application 8-259831 filed Sep. 30, 1996, JapanesePatent Application 8-303322 filed Nov. 14, 1996, Japanese PatentApplication 8-306829 filed Nov. 18, 1996, Japanese Patent Application8-324430 filed Dec. 4, 1996, and Japanese Patent Application 8-349119filed Dec. 26, 1996, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a contact probe used as a probe pin, ora socket pin etc., for electrical testing of devices, such assemiconductor IC (Integrated Circuit) chips, liquid crystal devices,etc., and more particularly to a contact probe integrated into a probecard, a probe device, a test socket, etc. and which are brought intocontact with respective terminals of a device under test.

2. Description of Related Art

Contact pins are generally used for carrying out an electrical testingby being brought into contact with respective terminals of a deviceunder test, for example, such as a semiconductor chip, such as an ICchip, an LSI (Large Scale Integrated Circuit) chip, an LCD (LiquidCrystal Display), etc.

In recent years, with high integration and miniaturization of devices,such as IC chips etc., contact pads configured as electrodes formed witha narrow pitch, multi pins, and narrow pitch contact pins have beenrequired. According to one solution to the above requirements, a contactprobe made of tungsten needles used as contact pins has been proposed.However; with this solution it is difficult to deal with multi pins andnarrow pitch requirements due to a limitation in the diameter of thetungsten needles.

In Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. JP-B-7-82027, a contactprobe technology where a plurality of wiring patterns are formed on aresin film and respective front end portions of the wiring patterns arearranged to project from the resin film to form contact pins isproposed. According to this technology, a probe device having multi pinsand narrow pitch is possible and numerous complex parts are not requiredas compared to other technologies. As shown in FIG. 110, a conventionalcontact probe 1A has a structure where wiring patterns 3A formed from Ni(nickel) or a Ni alloy are attached on one face of a polyimide resinfilm 2A and front end portions of the wiring patterns 3A are projectedfrom an end portion of the resin film 2A so as to form contact pins 3aA. In FIG. 110, positioning holes 4A are formed in the polyimide resinfilm 2A as will be described later.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. JP-A-6-324081 proposes aprobe device (probe card) using contact probes having a flexiblesubstrate, as in the previously discussed publication, where front endportions of wiring patterns constitute contact pins. According to thisprobe device, a matching is conducted with respect to a difference inpin pitches of an IC chip or device under test, etc. and a tester. Theproposed probe device is suitable for probe testing an IC chip etc.having multi pins and narrow pitch.

FIGS. 111-113 will now be used to explain the operation of aconventional probe device 11A where a contact probe 1A is integratedwith a mechanical parts 10A. The mechanical parts 10A include a mountingbase 12A, a top clamp 13A and a bottom clamp 14A. The probe device 11Aincludes the top clamp 13A securing a printed circuit board 15A, themounting base 12A, and the contact probe 1A via a bottom clamp 14A. Thebottom clamp 14A is attached to the top clamp 13A by bolts 17A and boltholes 16A. The contact probe 1A having wiring patterns 3A (FIG. 110) ispressed by the bottom clamp 14A, so that the wiring patterns 3A pressagainst an IC chip under test while being maintained in a constantinclined state.

FIG. 112 illustrates the probe device 11A of FIG. 111 after assembly.FIG. 113 is a sectional view taken along a line E-E of FIG. 112. Asshown in FIG. 113, the front ends of the wiring patterns 3A are broughtinto contact with an IC chip I by the mounting base 12A. The mountingbase 12A is provided with positioning pins 18A for adjusting theposition of the contact probe 1A, and the wiring patterns 3A. Thus, theIC chip I can be accurately positioned by inserting the positioning pins18A into the positioning holes 4A of the contact probe 1A. Elasticbodies 20A of the bottom clamp 14A are pressed against portions of thewiring patterns 3A at windows 19A provided in the contact probe 1A. Inthis way, the wiring patterns 3A at the windows 19A are brought intocontact with electrodes 21A of the printed circuit board 15A forming asignal path by which signals obtained from the wiring patterns 3A can betransmitted via the electrodes 21A of the printed circuit board 15A.

However, the above-described conventional contact probe 1A has thefollowing problems. As shown in FIG. 114, the contact pins 3 aA of theconventional contact probe 1A are attached on one face of the resin film2A. However, the resin film 2A is fabricated from, for example,polyimide resin and therefore, the resin may be elongated by absorbedmoisture changing an interval t between the contact pins 3 aA.Accordingly, the contact pins 3 aA may not accurately contact pads of anIC chip, or device under test, etc. and therefore, an accurateelectrical test cannot be conducted. Furthermore, although thepositioning holes 4A for integrating the contact probe 1A to the probedevice 11A are provided in the resin film 2A of the contact probe 1A,the resin film 2A has a small hardness value and accordingly, thepositioning holes 4A are susceptible to being deformed. Therefore,accurate positioning of the contact probe 1A cannot be performed.

Furthermore, according to the contact probe 1A (FIGS. 110-113), duringtesting of a device, an amount of pressure applied to contact pins ofthe contact probe is increased or decreased to provide a desired contactpressure. A large amount of pressure must be applied to the contact pinsin order to provide a large contact pressure. However, according to thefirst type of contact probe, front end portions of wiring patterns ofthe contact probe are used to form the contact pins. The contact pinsare made from a material such as Ni (nickel). Therefore, a hardness ofthe contact pins is typically about Hv 300. Due to the low hardness ofthe contact pins 3 aA, the contact pins may be bent or deformed underexcessive contact pressure. Accordingly, there is a limited amount ofpressure that can be exerted on the contact pins so that a large contactpressure cannot be obtained. Therefore, a sufficient contact pressurecannot be obtained during electrical measurements of a device undertest, resulting in contact failure.

To solve the above problem, there is provided a means of adding anadditive agent, such as saccharin etc. in the Ni plating of the contactpins. Although at normal temperature the contact pins have a hardness ofHv 350 or more, the hardness of the contact pins drops rapidly to Hv 200or less when the contact pins are heated to a high temperatures (e.g.,300° C.). This is due to the S (sulphur) content of the additive agent,such as saccharin etc. which reduces the contact pin hardness at hightemperatures. Therefore, the above-described contact probe cannottypically be used at high temperatures, particularly when the contactprobe is used as a chip carrier for a burn-in test, etc. which subjectsthe contact probe to high temperatures.

In addition, surfaces of respective terminals (pads) of an IC chip, etc.are typically made from a material, such as an Al (aluminum) alloy, etc.When such terminals are exposed to air, oxidation occurs and theterminals have a thin aluminum oxide film formed thereon. Therefore,during electrical testing, the aluminum oxide film formed on the surfaceof the pads of an IC chip, etc. must be removed in order to expose analuminum matrix underneath the surface so as to ensure proper electricalconductivity between the pads and the contact pins. Accordingly, thecontact pins of a contact probe are overdriven while being brought intocontact with the surfaces of the pads (e.g., the contact pins are pulledacross the pads during contact) so that the aluminum oxide film on thesurfaces of the pads is scrubbed off by front end portions of thecontact pins exposing the internal aluminum matrix of the pads. Theabove-described operation is referred to as scrubbing and is importantfor ensuring proper contact between the contact pins and the pads of theIC chip, etc. during electrical testing thereof.

In performing the scrubbing operation, it is necessary to prevent thecontact pins from damaging the aluminum matrix underneath the aluminumoxide film on the surfaces of the pads. Accordingly, in fabricating thecontact pins, a mask exposure technology is used and the front endportions of the contact pins are formed having circular arc (convex)faces in a plane view. This is due to the fact that it is difficult toform a fine pattern on a mask in accordance with a desired shape (seeFIG. 110). In contrast, a conventional tungsten needle has a planerfront end face due to a polishing operation which is performed on thefront end portions of the needles in order to adjust the lengths of therespective needles. However, the above-described contact pins areprovided with a convex circular face resulting in a small contact areawith the pad of the IC chip, etc. so that the contact pins exert a largecontact pressure on the pad due to the small contact area. Accordingly,the contact pins are liable to scrape off the aluminum matrix of the padduring the scrubbing operation as compared with the conventionaltungsten needle contact probe.

Therefore, it is necessary to ensure a large enough contact angle of thecontact pin with respect to the pad so that the aluminum matrix of thepad is not damaged during the scrubbing operation. This is due to thefact that when the contact angle is small, an amount of removed aluminumat the surface of the pad can significantly increase resulting in damageto the aluminum matrix of the pad. However, contact pins 3 aA which areformed from a resin film 2A project along a face of the resin film 2Aand the contact angle of the contact pin cannot be greater than theangle of the face of the resin film 2A (see FIG. 110). In other words,the angles of the contact pins 3 aA are restricted by the angle of theface of the resin film 2A. Therefore, the angles of the contact pins 3aA cannot be set independently from the surface of the resin film 2A.

In the contact probe described above, it is possible to increase thecontact angle of the contact pins by increasing the angle of the face ofthe resin film by devising a way of integrating the contact probe in aprobe card which sets the angle of the resin film and the contact pins.In such a case, the scrubbing distance (i.e., length for scrubbing off askin along the surface of the pad) is extended and depending on amagnitude of the contact angle since the contact angle determines howfar the front end portions of the contact pins project over the padsduring the scrubbing operation. For example, in the case of a pad havinga substantially square form in a plane view with a sides ofapproximately 90 μm to 100 μm in length, when the scrubbing distance isset to 8 μm with an amount of overdriving of 75 μm and a contact angleof 15° to 20°, even with a slight increase in the contact angle of 5°,the scrubbing distance becomes 12 μm or more.

Furthermore, when the angle of the face of the resin film is increasedas described above, the resin film is raised with respect to the contactface by an amount of the angle. In such a case, the resin film andcontact probe constitute a probe device which is integrated with variousmechanical parts to form a probe card (or prober). When the angle of theresin film is increased, the height dimension of the probe device alsoincrease. However, the above-described probe device is mounted in aprober and the prober cannot be typically made so that it is of avariable height (i.e., a distance/height from the IC chip etc.).Therefore, when the height of the probe device exceeds a predeterminedlevel, the probe device cannot be mounted in the prober.

However, the following problems remain in the above-described contactprobe and probe device including the contact probe (contact probe 1A,FIGS. 110-113). Connection from electrodes of the IC chip I to theelectrodes 21A of the printed circuit board 15A is conducted via thewiring patterns 3A integrated on the resin film 2A. Therefore, there isno degree of freedom in the pad arrangement of the electrodes 21A on theside of the printed wiring board 15A. Although no particular problem iscaused in the case where the electrodes of the IC chip I are arrangeduniformly at four sides thereof, it is difficult to deal with the casewhere the electrodes are arranged nonuniformly on the four sides. Inother words, in the case where the electrodes are concentrated on oneside of the IC chip, for example, in the case of a driver IC of an LCD,etc. (i.e., several hundreds pins are formed on the longer side of a 3mm×1 mm size chip), there is no space for arranging pads of theelectrodes 21A on the printed circuit board 15A. Therefore, it isdifficult to connect the electrodes of the IC chip I to the printedwiring board 15A.

According to the previously described contact probe 1A, one side of thecontact probe is typically arranged to align with the pad positions ofan IC chip, etc., while the other side is connected to the printedwiring board 15A. In order to widen the pitch of the wiring patterns 3Aof the contact probe 1A, the contact probe 1A is formed in a trapezoidalshape (see FIGS. 110-113). Furthermore, positioning holes 4A areprovided in the contact probe 1A and the contact probe 1A is integratedwith highly accurately fabricated mechanical parts by using thepositioning holes 4A. In this way the mechanical parts are integratedwith the printed wiring board 15A. In addition, according to the contactprobe 1A, a photolithography technology capable of finely formingpatterns is used for a fabricating and forming process of the wiringpattern 3A. Therefore, the contact probe 1A, advantageously, provides anarrowed pitch front end portion so that the contact probe 1A can bebrought into contact with the narrow pitch of the contact pads of adevice under test.

However, the accuracy of positioning the contact pins 3 aA of thecontact probe 1A with respect to the contact pads of an IC or an LCD, isdependent upon the accuracy of the fixing means with respect to themechanical parts. In other words, the accuracy of fasteners using thepositioning holes 4A. Accordingly, even if the pitch of the contact pins3 aA is narrowed or the diameter of the front end of each of the contactpins 3 aA is considerably diminished, when the accuracy of positioningis poor, it is difficult to take advantage of the advantages of thecontact probe 1A.

Furthermore, there are the following additional problems in the contactprobe 1A. According to the contact probe 1A, the front end is providedwith a portion where the pitch of the wiring patterns 3A is narrowed.Therefore, the yield is lowered in the photolithography or plating step,etc. used in fabricating the contact probe 1A due to the narrow pitcharea. This means that in fabricating the contact probe 1A, the yield ofthe contact probe 1A is governed by the yield of the portion where thepitch is narrowed. In this case, the contact probe 1A is formed in atrapezoidal shape with the narrower front end portion having thenarrower pitch wiring patterns 3A and the wider rear end portion havingwiring patterns 3A that are coarse. Moreover, in integrating the contactprobe 1A to the printed wiring board 15A, a considerably large area isrequired to accommodate the contact probe 1A. In this case, a necessityof a large area for the contact probe I A results in a small number ofthe contact probes 1A being able to be formed from a resin film 2A usedas a raw material and having limited area. Therefore, when theabove-described contact probe 1A is fabricated, the yield is governed bythe front end portion having the narrow area with the narrow pitchwiring, while the area per se of the contact probe is governed by thewider portion with the coarse pitch wiring.

Furthermore, in relation to the above-described problems, the front endportion or contact pin of the contact probe 1A is liable to be destroyedsince the contact pins project from the resin film 2A. In this case, theentire contact probe 1A must be replaced even if only one contact pin isdamaged. Accordingly, maintenance costs of a probe device using thecontact probe 1A increase. Furthermore, the above-described contactprobe 1A does not allow for ease of changing contact pressure of thecontact pins.

A conventional probe card is shown in FIG. 116. According to the probecard, perforated portions are provided at measurement positions of thecard comprising a glass epoxy plate with contact pins (needles)projecting from the measurement positions. A material, such as W(tungsten) having a small degree of wear is generally used as thematerial for fabricating the needle. The probe card is provided in ashape of a leaf spring where the contact pins are extended toward adirection inclined downwardly and is referred to as a horizontalarranged needle type probe card. In addition, as illustrated by FIGS.115(a) and 115(b), terminals to be inspected by the probe card areperipherally arranged, wherein terminal electrodes are formed only at aperiphery of a chip (FIG. 115(a)), and planarly arranged, whereinterminal electrodes are formed over the entire face of the chip (FIG.115(b)). In this case, although the above-described horizontal arrangedneedle type probe card can deal with the peripherally arrangedterminals, it cannot deal with the planarly arranged terminals.Furthermore, there is a limitation in multi pin formation of the probecard. In addition, according to the horizontal needle arranged typeprobe card, the total length of the contact pin is typically 40 mm to 30mm. Therefore, there is a limitation in an inspection speed using theprobe card. Hence, a vertically arranged probe card was devised as shownin FIG. 117 to overcome the deficiencies of the above-describedhorizontally arranged needle type contact probe. According to thevertically arranged type probe card, the card can deal with the planarlyarranged terminals, multi pin formation can be realized, and the problemof the inspection speed is also improved since the length of the contactpin is approximately 11 mm to 7.5 mm which is comparatively short.

However, the vertically arranged type probe cards have the followingproblems. When there is a more or less a deviation with the respectivetotal lengths of the contact pins, if all of the contact pins includingcontact pins of various lengths are brought into contact with respectiveterminals, the longer contact pins are bent during an overdrivingoperation (i.e., contact pins are pulled down further than from wherethey are brought into contact with the terminals). According to theabove-described probe card, the material of the contact pins is tungstenwhich is highly rigid. Therefore, in overdriving the contact pin, thelonger contact pins are not sufficiently bent and the shorter contactpins are not firmly brought into contact with the terminals.Particularly, in the case of the vertical needle type probe card, thecontact pins are brought into contact with the terminals substantiallyin a vertical direction which makes the contact pins less likely tobend. In addition, the above-described contact pins made of tungsten aredevoid of flexibility. Therefore, even if they are bent, the directionof bending does not stay constant. As a result, contiguous ones of thecontact pins may erroneously be brought into contact with each othercausing shorting between contact pins. Also, according to theabove-described needle type contact probe, the integration of thecontact pins, alignments of the heights and the positions of therespective pins must be performed manually, which is very difficult.Furthermore, it is difficult to deal with the multi pin and narrow pitchformation due to the limitation in the diameter of the tungsten needle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide acontact probe capable of carrying out accurate electrical tests byminimizing a change in intervals between contact pins due to a change inhumidity and by firmly bringing the contact pins into contact with padsof a device under test (also referred to as object of measurement) withaccurate positioning by minimizing deformation of positioning holes.

Another object of the present invention to provide a contact probeexhibiting a large amount of hardness and excellent thermal resistanceduring high temperature operation.

A further object of the present invention to provide a contact probe anda probe device including the contact probe which perform an adequatescrubbing operation but prevent the scrubbing distance from increasingmore than is necessary and without damaging material under a film on asurface of a pad of a device under test (also referred to as an objectof measurement).

An additional object of the present invention to provide a contact probeand a probe device including the contact probe allowing for multi pinand narrow pin pitch formation applicable to testing a semiconductordevice, such as an IC chip, LCD, etc. having electrodes which are notarranged in uniform fashion along sides of the semiconductor device.

A still further object of the present invention to provide a contactprobe having ease of positioning with respect to pads of a device undertests, such as an IC, or LCD, etc.

Yet another object of the present invention to provide a contact probewith reduced fabrication costs ease of maintenance, such as ease ofreplacing contact probes or changing contact pressure.

Yet a further object of the present invention to provide a contact probeand a probe device including the contact probe specified as follows:

-   -   (1) The contact probe can deal with planarly arranged terminals;    -   (2) The total length of the contact pin is short and the        inspection speed is fast;    -   (3) The contact probe can deal with the multi pins and narrow        pitch formation;    -   (4) The contact pin is flexible during an overdriving of the        pin;    -   (5) The direction of bending the contact pin can be adjusted so        as to be constant; and    -   (6) The contact probe exhibits excellent high frequency        characteristic.

The above and other objects are achieved according to the presentinvention by providing by providing in a probe device, an improvedcontact probe including a film; a plurality of wiring patterns formed onthe film, each wiring pattern having a front end portion projecting fromthe film so as to form contact pins; and a metal layer provided on thefilm.

According to the above-described probe device, the film, such as a resinfilm, etc. is liable to extend due to moisture absorption. Accordingly,a metal layer is provided on the film so that extension of the film isrestrained by the metal layer under various humidity conditions. Inother words, a small deviation in an interval between the respectivecontact pins occurs and the contact pins can be brought into contactwith pads accurately and with fine precision. Accordingly, a properscrubbing operation is ensured since the contact pins can brought intoprecise contact with pads of a device under test and the angle of thecontact pin with respect to the pad does not deviate much from a desiredvalue. Furthermore, the metal film can be used as a ground whereby adesign taking an impedance matching up to the vicinity of the front endof the contact probe can be performed. In this way, adverse influencescaused by reflection noise can be prevented in performing a test in ahigh frequency region. In other words, when the characteristic impedancebetween the side of the substrate wiring and the contact pins is notmatched in the middle of a transmitting cable from a tester (alsoreferred to as a prober), reflection noise results. In this case, thelonger the transfer cable having different characteristic impedances,the more the reflection noise is increased. The reflection noiseconstitutes a signal distortion and is liable to cause erroneousoperation in a high frequency region. According to the contact probe, byusing the metal film as a ground, the characteristic impedance can bematched up to the vicinity of the front end of the contact pin by theside of the substrate wirings and erroneous operation caused byreflection noise can be restrained.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is providedthe probe device of the first aspect, wherein the contact pins of thecontact probe are made of a nickel-manganese alloy including manganesein a range from 0.05 wt. % to 1.5 wt. %.

According to the above-described probe device, the front end portion ismade of a nickel-manganese alloy including manganese in a range of from0.05 wt. % to 1.5 wt. %. Accordingly, the front end portion of thecontact pins exhibit a hardness of Hv 350 or more even during hightemperature operation (e.g., 500° C.). In other words, the hardness ofthe Ni—Mn alloy is not extremely lowered by high temperature heating.Furthermore, when the amount of manganese (Mn) is less than 0.05 wt. %,the hardness of Hv 350 or more cannot be obtained. When amount ofmanganese (Mn) exceeds 1.5 wt. %, the contact pins may be bend due to anincrease in stresses at the front end portion thereof and the contactpins also become very brittle and toughness is lowered. Accordingly, bysetting the manganese content in the above-specified range, the highhardness and toughness necessary for a contact probe can be provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is providedthe probe device of the first aspect, wherein the contact pins of thecontact probe are bent at a middle position thereof.

According to the above-described probe device, the contact pin is bentat the middle portion and therefore, the angle with respect to an objectof measurement (pad) can be changed at the front end portion and thebase end portion of the contact pin. Thereby, an angle (contact angle)of the front end portion of the contact pin with respect to the pad canbe fixed to be large without enlarging an angle of the film with respectto the pad. Accordingly, a matrix of the pads can be prevented fromimpairing in the scrubbing operation without excessively enlarging thescrubbing distance and without enlarging the height of the probe device.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is providedthe probe device of the third aspect, wherein each of the contact pinsof the contact probe has a tip portion opposite an end portion, the tipportion configured such that when the tip portion is brought intocontact with an object of measurement, an angle of the tip portion withrespect to a contact face thereof is in a range of 60° to 90°, and theend portion configured such that an angle of the end portion withrespect to the contact face is in a range of 0° to 30°.

According to the above-described probe device, the angle of the frontend portion of the contact pin with respect to the contact face isprovided to be 60° or more. Therefore, the matrix of the pad is notdamaged. In addition, the angle of the front end portion of the contactpin with respect to the contact face is set to be smaller than 90°. Thisis because if the angle of the front end portion is 90° or more, theskin of the pad cannot be properly scrubbed off during the scrubbingoperation and sufficient conductivity is not ensured resulting incontact failure during testing. Furthermore, the angle of the base endportion of the contact pin with respect to the contact face is set to be30° or less. Therefore, the scrubbing distance is not excessivelyprolonged and the front end of the contact pin is not projected from thepad in the scrubbing operation. In addition, the angle of the base endportion of the contact pin with respect to the contact face is fixed tobe 0° or more, because if this condition is not satisfied, a sufficientoverdriving amount cannot be provided in the scrubbing operation.

Furthermore, according to the above-described probe device, a facehaving a parallel degree with respect to the contact face of the padthat is higher than that of the conventional contact pin, is formed atthe front end portion by bending the contact pin as described above.This is required due to the following positioning operation. Inpositioning the contact pin with respect to the pad, a method wherelight is irradiated from the direction of the pad (normally, from below)toward the contact pin and light reflected from the contact pin isdetected so that the position of the contact pin is recognized is used.However, according to a conventional contact pin, which is not bent,when the contact pin is integrated to a probe card, the contact pin onlyprojects to the contact face of the pad with a low angle of, forexample, about 15° to 20°. Accordingly, even if light is irradiated fromthe direction of the pad, the amount of reflected light is small.Therefore, positional detection of the contact pin is difficult. Inrespect thereto, according to the contact pin of the present invention,a face having a high vertical degree is formed with respect to adirection in which light is irradiated.

Therefore, a sufficient amount of light is reflected whereby thepositional detection is facilitated.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is providedthe probe device of the fourth aspect, further including a substrateattached to the contact probe, the substrate having terminals connectedto respective base ends of the wiring patterns; and an inclinationholding member having a lower face inclined at angle in a range of 0° to30° with respect to the contact face of an object of measurement andconfigured to maintain the end portion so that the angle of the endportion with respect to the contact face is in the range of 0° to 30°;wherein the contact probe is supported by the inclination holding membersuch that the metal layer of the film is brought into contact with thelower face of the inclination holding member.

According to the above-described probe device, the inclination holdingmember is installed and the lower face is gradually inclined downwardlytoward the front end side by an angle in a range of 0° to 30° withrespect to the contact face. The front end side of the film is supportedby being brought into contact with the lower face. Therefore, the angleof the base end portion of the contact pin projected from the front endof the film with respect to the contact face is stably maintained to avalue described in the fourth aspect of the present invention.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is providedthe probe device of the first aspect, the contact probe furtherincluding a contact probe main body including a plurality of the wiringpatterns disposed as main wiring patterns; and a contact probe branchportion which branches from the contact probe main body, integrallyformed with the contact probe main body, and includes a plurality of thewiring patterns disposed as branch wiring patterns formed by dividingportions of the main wiring patterns.

The above-described probe device includes the contact probe main bodywhere the main wiring patterns are formed and the contact probe branchportion that is branched from the contact probe main body and isintegrally formed therewith. The contact probe branch portion isprovided with the branch wiring patterns formed by branching portions ofthe main wiring patterns. Accordingly, the portions of the main wiringpatterns are distributed to the branch wiring patterns by which thebranch wiring patterns can be connected to locations other than those ofthe main wiring patterns. In other words, even if electrodes areconcentrated on one side of a semiconductor chip, etc., the main wiringpatterns connected to the one side of the electrodes are branched by thebranch wiring patterns and are dispersed to the other locations. Also,the contact probe main body and the contact probe branch portion areintegrally formed. Therefore, there is an advantage where the both thecontact probe main body and the contact probe branch portion can beformed with equivalent high dimensional accuracy with minimal positionalshifting in the main wiring patterns and the branch wiring patterns.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there isprovided the probe device of the sixth aspect, further including awiring substrate having a plurality of substrate side wiring patternsrespectively connected to middle portions or rear end portions of themain wiring patterns and the branch wiring patterns; and support membersfor supporting respective front end portions of the main wiringpatterns.

According to the above-described probe device, the substrate side wiringpatterns respectively connected to the main wiring patterns and thebranch wiring patterns in the contact probe according to the sixthaspect, are formed at the wiring substrate. Therefore, the main wiringpatterns are divided by the branch wiring patterns by which thesubstrate side wiring patterns connected thereto are also divided andare formed at separate locations and the arrangement space is wide andcan be set with a high degree of freedom.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there isprovided the probe device of the seventh aspect, wherein the wiringsubstrate is provided with a rectangular opening for arranging thecontact probe, a plurality of the contact pins of the contact probe arearranged along a diagonal line of the rectangular opening and thecontact probe main body and the contact probe branch portion arerespectively distributed to two sides of the rectangular opening opposedto the diagonal line; and wherein the main wiring patterns and thebranch wiring patterns are respectively connected to the substrate sidewiring patterns at the two sides of the rectangular opening.

According to the above-described probe device, the front end portions ofthe contact probe are arranged along the diagonal line of therectangular opening. Therefore, an object of measurement such as an IC,etc. having electrodes which are particularly concentrated on one sidecan be arranged along the diagonal line. Therefore, the front endportions are correspondingly brought into contact with the one side ofthe electrodes. Then, the contact probe main body and the contact probebranch portion are distributed to left and right at the two sides of therectangular opening and the main wiring patterns and the branch wiringpatterns are separately connected to the substrate side wiring patternsat the two sides.

Therefore, the wiring patterns concentrated on the one side of theelectrodes of an IC, etc. can be distributed to left and right by whicha number of wirings can be divided and arranged to two sides withoutconcentrating on one side of the rectangular opening.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is providedthe probe device of the seventh aspect, wherein the substrate sidewiring patterns are respectively formed on a front face and a back faceof the wiring substrate; wherein the contact probe main body and thecontact probe branch portion are respectively distributed to the frontface and the back face of the wiring substrate by folding a portion ofeither one thereof; and wherein the main wiring patterns and the branchwiring patterns are respectively connected to the substrate side wiringpatterns at the two sides of the rectangular opening.

According to the above-described probe device, by folding, etc. thecontact probe main body and the contact probe branch portion which areof a film-like shape and formed integrally with each other, aredistributed to the front surface and the back face of the wiringsubstrate. Therefore, the main wiring patterns and the branch wiringpatterns can be separately connected to the substrate side wiringpatterns on two faces of the substrate. In this way, connection isfacilitated by a doubled arrangement space of the substrate side wiringpatterns without concentrating the wirings on one face of the wiringsubstrate.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is providedthe probe device of the first aspect, the contact probe furtherincluding a contact probe main body including the wiring patternsdisposed as a plurality main wiring patterns; and at least one of branchwiring plate connected to the contact probe main body by attaching aportion of the branch wiring plate to the contact probe main body, andincluding a plurality of branch wiring patterns; wherein the branchwiring patterns are each connected to portions of the plurality of mainwiring patterns.

The above-described probe device includes the contact probe main bodywhere the main wiring patterns are formed and the branch wiring plateconnected to the contact probe main body. The branch wiring patternsconnected to the main wiring patterns are formed at the branch wiringplate. Therefore, portions of the main wiring patterns are distributedto the branch wiring patterns by which the branch wiring patterns can beconnected to locations other than those of the main wiring patterns. Inother words, even if electrodes are concentrate d on one side of asemiconductor chip, etc., the main wiring patterns connected to the oneside of the electrodes, are branched and divided by the branch wiringpatterns and are connected to other locations.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a probe device of the tenth aspect, further including a wiringsubstrate having a plurality of substrate side wiring patternsrespectively connected to middle portions or rear end portions of themain wiring patterns and the branch wiring patterns; and supportingmembers for supporting the respective front end portions of the mainwiring patterns; wherein the substrate side wiring patterns arerespectively formed on a front face and a back face of the wiringsubstrate; wherein the contact probe main body and the branch wiringplate are respectively distributed to the front face and the back faceof the wiring substrate; and wherein the main wiring patterns and thebranch wiring patterns are respectively connected to the substrate sidewiring patterns at the two sides of the rectangular opening.

According to the above-described probe device, the substrate side wiringpatterns respectively connected to the main wiring patterns and thebranch wiring patterns in the contact probe according to the tenthaspect of the present invention, are formed on the wiring substrate.Accordingly, the main wiring patterns are divided by the branch wiringpatterns by which the substrate side wiring patterns connected theretoare also divided and are formed at separate locations, the arrangementspace is wide and is set with a higher degree of freedom.

Particularly, according to the above-described probe device, the contactprobe main body and the branch wiring plate are distributed to thesurface and the back face of the wiring substrate and the main wiringpatterns and the branch wiring patterns can separately be connected tothe substrate side wiring patterns at two faces of the surface and theback face of the wiring substrate. In this way, connection isfacilitated by the doubled arrangement space of the substrate sidewiring patterns without concentrating the wirings on one face of thewiring substrate.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a contact probe including a first contact probe including afirst film, and a plurality of first wiring patterns formed on the firstfilm, each first wiring pattern having a front end portion projectingfrom the first film so as to form contact pins; and a second contactprobe connected to the first contact probe including a second film, anda plurality of second wiring patterns formed on the second film; whereinthe plurality of second wiring patterns are connected to the pluralityof first wiring patterns, and the second contact probe is formedseparately from the first contact probe.

According to the above-described contact probe, the first contact probeand the second contact probe are formed by separate steps andthereafter, they are connected to each other such that the wiringpatterns are connected.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there isprovided the contact probe of the twelfth aspect, wherein the pluralityof first wiring patterns are densely formed, the plurality of secondwiring patterns are densely formed at a vicinity of the connection tothe plurality of first wiring patterns, and the plurality of secondwiring patterns are coarsely formed at a position remote from thevicinity of the of the connection to the plurality of first wiringpatterns.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there isprovided the contact probe of the twelfth aspect, wherein the pluralityof first wiring patterns are formed densely at front end portionsthereof and are coarsely formed at rear end portions thereof, and theplurality of second wiring patterns are coarsely formed and connected tothe first wiring patterns at the rear end portions thereof.

According to the above-described contact probe, the first contact probeand the second contact probe are connected to each other where thewiring patterns of both of probes coarsely formed.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there isprovided the contact probe of the twelfth aspect, wherein an area of thefirst contact probe is configured to be smaller than an area of thesecond contact probe.

According to the above-described contact probe, the occupied area of thefirst contact probe where the wiring patterns are formed densely, ismade smaller. Accordingly, an amount of yield at that portion isincreased by decreasing the area where the densely formed expensivewiring patterns are present. Accordingly, fabrication cost of thecontact probe formed by connecting the first contact probe and thesecond contact probe can be reduced.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, there isprovided the contact probe of the twelfth aspect, further including ananisotropic conductive tape connecting the first contact probe and thesecond contact probe such that a face of the first contact probe wherethe plurality of first wiring patterns are formed is opposed to a faceof the second contact probe where the plurality of second wiringpatterns are formed.

According to the above-described contact probe, the first wiring patternand the second wiring pattern are connected to each other by theanisotropic conductive tape. Therefore, the degree of allowance withrespect to positional shift between the both wiring patterns isincreased and positional matching is facilitated.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, there isprovided the probe device of the first aspect, further including aplurality of the contact probes arranged such that axial lines of thecontact pins are substantially vertical to a contact face of an objectof measurement, and the plurality of contact probes are parallellydisposed so as to provide spaces between respective faces of the filmsof the plurality of contact probes.

According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, there isprovided the probe device of seventeenth aspect, wherein a direction ofbending of the contact pins of the plurality of the contact probes whena buckling load is applied is configured to be substantially constant.

According to the above-described probe device, when the contact pin isbent by receiving a buckling load in the overdriving operation, thedirection of bending stays substantially constant. Therefore, contiguousones of the contact pins are not erroneously brought into contact witheach other.

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, there isprovided the probe device of the eighteenth aspect, wherein a positionof buckling points in axial line directions of the contact pins of theplurality of the contact probes is configured to be substantiallyconstant.

According to the above-described probe device, when the contact pin isbent, the position of a buckling point of the contact pin stayssubstantially constant. Therefore, contiguous ones of the contact pinsare not erroneously brought into contact with each other.

According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, there isprovided the probe device of the eighteenth aspect, further including ametal film disposed on a back side the contact pins of the plurality ofthe contact probes at a specified position in an axial line direction,and which is subjected to a half-etching treatment.

According to the above-described probe device, the half-etchingtreatment is performed at a predetermined position of the metal film bya predetermined amount. In this way, the direction of bending and theposition of bending the contact pin can be made constant. Furthermore,compared to the probe which is not subjected to the half-etchingtreatment, the contact probe of the present invention is liable to bebent by a smaller buckling load. Therefore, contact of a total of longand short pins with respect to the terminals can be ensured. In thiscase, a distortion caused in the contact pin in the overdrivingoperation, is shifted to the location of the half-etching treatment andoccurrence of buckling (bending) at locations other than the portionscan be prevented. Furthermore, if the contact pin per se is subjected tothe half-etching treatment, the strength is weakened and the contact pinmay be broken, however, there is no concern in the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendantadvantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed descriptions whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view magnifying essential portions and showing afirst embodiment of a contact probe according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along a line A-A of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3(a) through 3(h) are sectional views of essential portionsshowing a method of fabricating the contact probe of the firstembodiment according to the present;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a modified example of the firstembodiment of the contact probe according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a magnified schematic view showing a second embodiment of acontact probe according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along a line A-A of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a probe device (chip carrier)according to the second embodiment of the contact probe of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an outlook of the probe device (chipcarrier) in the second embodiment of the contact probe according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along a line B-B magnifying essentialportions in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of essential portions showing a thirdembodiment of a contact probe according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a plane view showing the third embodiment of the contactprobe according to the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along a line C-C of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of a probedevice integrated with the third embodiment of the contact probeaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of essential portions showing an exampleof a probe device integrated with the third embodiment of the contactprobe according to the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along a line E-E of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a contact probe in a fourthembodiment of a probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along a line F-F of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is an exploded perspective view showing a contact probe pinchingbody in the fourth embodiment of the probe device according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing the fourth embodiment of the probedevice according to the present invention;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing the contact probe pinching body inthe fourth embodiment of the probe device according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 21 is a sectional view taken along a line X-X of FIG. 19;

FIG. 22 is a side view showing a conventional drawback of a contactprobe with respect to a fifth embodiment of a probe device according tothe present invention;

FIG. 23 is a side view showing the conventional drawback of a probedevice with respect to the fifth embodiment of the probe deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 24 is a side view showing a contact probe integrated to the contactprobe pinching body in the fifth embodiment of the probe deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 25 is a view in direction D of FIG. 16 with respect to a sixthembodiment of a contact probe according to the present invention;

FIG. 26 is a side view showing the sixth embodiment of the contact probeaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 27 is a side view showing a contact probe integrated to a contactprobe pinching body in a seventh embodiment of a probe device accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 28 is a side view showing a contact probe in an eighth embodimentof a probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 29 is a side view showing the contact probe integrated to a contactprobe pinching body in the eighth embodiment of the probe deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 30 is a side view showing a contact probe in a ninth embodiment ofa contact probe according to the present invention;

FIG. 31 is a side view showing the contact probe integrated to a contactprobe pinching body in the ninth embodiment of the probe deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 32 is a side view showing a contact probe in a tenth embodiment ofa probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 33 is a side view showing the contact probe integrated to a contactprobe pinching body in the tenth embodiment of the probe deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 34 is a graph showing a relationship between a Mn (manganese)concentration and a hardness at a front end portion of a contact probeaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 35 is a side view magnifying a contact pin in an eleventhembodiment of a contact probe according to the present invention;

FIG. 36 is a perspective view of essential portions showing the eleventhembodiment of the contact probe according to the present invention;

FIG. 37 is a sectional view showing the eleventh embodiment of thecontact probe according to the present invention;

FIG. 38 is a sectional view of a probe device integrated with theeleventh embodiment of the contact probe according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 39 is a perspective view showing a contact probe in a twelfthembodiment of a probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 40 is a sectional view taken along a line A-A of FIG. 39;

FIG. 41 is a side view showing a conventional drawback of a contactprobe with respect to a thirteenth embodiment of a probe deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 42 is a side view showing the conventional drawback of the contactprobe in relation to the thirteenth embodiment of the contact probeaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 43 is a side view showing the probe device in the thirteenthembodiment of the probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 44 is a view in direction D of FIG. 39 in relation to a fourteenthembodiment of a contact probe according to the present invention;

FIG. 45 is a side view showing the contact probe in the fourteenthembodiment of the contact probe according to the present invention;

FIG. 46 is a side view showing a probe device in a fifteenth embodimentof a probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 47 is a side view showing a contact probe in a sixteenth embodimentof a probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 48 is a side view showing the probe device in the sixteenthembodiment of the probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 49 is a side view showing a contact probe in a seventeenthembodiment of a probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 50 is a side view showing the probe device in the seventeenthembodiment of the probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 51 is a side view showing a contact probe in an eighteenthembodiment of a probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 52 is a side view showing the probe device in the eighteenthembodiment of the probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 53 is an exploded perspective view showing a probe deviceintegrated with a nineteenth embodiment of a contact probe according tothe present invention;

FIG. 54 is a plane view showing connection between main pattern wiringand branch wiring patterns in the nineteenth embodiment of the contactprobe according to the present invention;

FIG. 55 is an outline plane view showing a probe device integrated witha twentieth embodiment of a contact probe according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 56 is a plane view showing a twenty-first embodiment of a contactprobe according to the present invention;

FIG. 57 is a sectional view of essential portions showing a probe deviceintegrated with the twenty-first embodiment of the contact probeaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 58 is a sectional view showing a conventional drawback of a contactprobe in relation to a twenty-second embodiment of the probe deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 59 is a sectional view showing the conventional drawback of theprobe device in relation to the twenty-second embodiment of the probedevice according to the present invention;

FIG. 60 is a sectional view showing the twenty-second embodiment of theprobe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 61 is a sectional view in a direction orthogonal to contact pins inrelation to a twenty-third embodiment of a contact probe according tothe present invention;

FIG. 62 is a sectional view showing the twenty-third embodiment of thecontact probe according to the present invention;

FIG. 63 is a sectional view showing a probe device according to atwenty-fourth embodiment of a probe device of the present invention;

FIG. 64 is a sectional view showing a contact probe in a twenty-fifthembodiment of a probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 65 is a sectional view showing the twenty-fifth embodiment of theprobe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 66 is a bottom view showing a probe device integrated with atwenty-sixth embodiment of a contact probe according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 67 is a sectional view taken along a line X-X of FIG. 66;

FIG. 68 is a plane view showing connection between a main pattern wiringand a branch pattern wiring in the probe device integrated with thetwenty-sixth embodiment of the contact probe according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 69 is a sectional view taken along a line Y-Y of FIG. 66;

FIG. 70 is a sectional view taken along a line Z-Z of FIG. 66;

FIG. 71 is a sectional view showing a conventional drawback of a contactprobe in relation to a twenty-seventh embodiment of a probe deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 72 is a sectional view showing the conventional drawback of thecontact probe in relation to the twenty-seventh embodiment of the probedevice according to the present invention;

FIG. 73 is a sectional view showing the twenty-seventh embodiment of theprobe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 74 is a sectional view in a direction orthogonal to contact pins inrelation to a twenty-eighth embodiment of a contact probe according tothe present invention;

FIG. 75 is a sectional view showing the twenty-eighth embodiment of thecontact probe according to the present invention;

FIG. 76 is a sectional view showing a probe device in a twenty-ninthembodiment of a probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 77 is a sectional view showing a contact probe in a thirtiethembodiment of a probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 78 is a sectional view showing the thirtieth embodiment of theprobe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 79 is a plane view showing a contact probe in a thirty-firstembodiment of a contact probe according to the present invention;

FIG. 80 is a side view in the thirty-first embodiment of the contactprobe according to the present invention;

FIG. 81 is a principle diagram showing a principle of electricallyconnecting a pattern wiring of a first contact probe to a pattern wiringof a second contact probe using an anisotropic conductive tape in thethirty-first embodiment of the contact probe according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 82 is a principle diagram showing a principle of electricallyconnecting the pattern wiring of the first contact probe to the patternwiring of the second contact probe using the anisotropic conductive tapein the thirty-first embodiment of the contact probe according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 83 is an outline view showing a way of positioning in connectingthe first contact probe, the second contact probe and mechanical partsshowing the thirty-first embodiment of the contact probe according tothe present invention;

FIG. 84 is a plane view of a contact probe showing a thirty-secondembodiment of a contact probe according to the present invention;

FIG. 85 is a perspective view showing a contact probe in a thirty-fourthembodiment of a probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 86 is a sectional view taken along a line A-A of FIG. 85;

FIG. 87 is a side view showing a conventional drawback of a contactprobe in relation to a thirty-fifth embodiment of a probe deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 88 is a side view showing the conventional drawback of the probedevice in relation to the thirty-fifth embodiment of the probe deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 89 is a side view showing the probe device in the thirty-fifthembodiment of the probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 90 is a view in a direction D of FIG. 85 in relation to athirty-sixth embodiment of a contact probe according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 91 is a side view showing the contact probe in the thirty-sixthembodiment of the contact probe according to the present invention;

FIG. 92 is a side view showing a probe device in a thirty-seventhembodiment of a probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 93 is a side view showing a contact probe in a thirty-eighthembodiment of a probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 94 is a side view showing the probe device in the thirty-eighthembodiment of the probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 95 is a side view showing a contact probe in a thirty-ninthembodiment of a probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 96 is a side view showing the probe device in the thirty-ninthembodiment of the probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 97 is a side view showing a contact probe in a fortieth embodimentof a probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 98 is a side view showing the probe device in the fortiethembodiment of the probe device according to the present invention;

FIG. 99 is a perspective view of essential portions showing aforty-first embodiment of a probe device according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 100 is a side view thereof;

FIG. 101 is a magnified side view thereof;

FIG. 102(a) is a plane view showing the forty-first embodiment of theprobe device according to the present invention and FIG. 102(b) is aside view thereof;

FIG. 103 is a perspective view of essential portions showing theforty-first embodiment of the contact probe according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 104 is a plane view showing the forty-first embodiment of thecontact probe according to the present invention;

FIG. 105 is a sectional view taken along a line C-C of FIG. 104;

FIG. 106 is a front view for explaining a metal thin plate in theforty-first embodiment of the contact probe according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 107 is a magnified side view of essential portions showing aforty-second embodiment of a probe device according to the presentinvention;

FIGS. 108(a), 108(b) and 108(c) illustrate a forty-third embodiment of acontact probe according to the present invention where FIG. 108(a) is aplane view, FIG. 108(b) is a sectional view taken along a line P-P ofFIG. 108(a) and 108(c) is a sectional view taken along a line Q-Q ofFIG. 108(a);

FIG. 109 is a plane view showing a forty-fifth embodiment of a contactprobe according to the present invention;

FIG. 110 is a perspective view of essential portions showing aconventional contact probe;

FIG. 111 is an exploded perspective view showing a probe deviceintegrated with the contact probe of FIG. 110;

FIG. 112 is a perspective view of essential portions of the probe deviceof FIG. 111;

FIG. 113 is a sectional view taken along a line E-E of FIG. 112;

FIG. 114 is a front view viewing from B direction of FIG. 110;

FIGS. 115(a) and 115(b) illustrate types of arrangement of electrodeterminals where FIG. 115(a) illustrates peripherally arranged terminalsand FIG. 115(b) illustrates planarly arranged terminals;

FIG. 116 is a side view showing a horizontal needle type probe card; and

FIG. 117 is a side view showing a vertical needle type probe card.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designateidentical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and moreparticularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is illustrated a contact probe 1Baccording to a first embodiment of the present invention including aresin film 2B, wiring patterns 3B, a metal film 500 and positioningholes 4B. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the contact probe 1B of a first embodimentis similar to the contact probe 1A of FIG. 110 but further includes themetal film 500.

As a result of carrying out a research to achieve the first object ofproviding a contact probe capable of carrying out accurate electricaltests by minimizing a change in intervals between contact pins due to achange in humidity and by firmly bringing the contact pins into contactwith pads of a device under test, the inventors made the followingdiscoveries. When the metal film 500 is attached on a face of theconventional resin film 2B opposed to a face where the wiring patterns3B and contact pins 3 aB are formed, the change in the interval tbetween the contact pins 3 aB is smaller as compared to the conventionalcontact probe 1A shown in FIG. 110 comprising a polyimide resin film 2Aand contact pins 3 aA. Furthermore, the positioning holes 4B of thecontact probe 1B are obtained by pasting the metal film 500 having thethermal expansion coefficient which is the same as that of the contactpins 3 aB onto the resin film 2B. In this way, positioning pins are moreaccurately inserted into the contact probe 1B and the contact pins 3 aBcan be accurately brought into contact with pads of a semiconductor chipas compared with conventional contact probes.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the contact probe 1B of the firstembodiment and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along a line A-A ofFIG. 1. The contact probe 1B of first embodiment includes a compositefilm comprising the resin film 2B and the metal film 500 with front endportions of the wiring patterns 3B projecting from the side of the resinfilm 2B with the wiring patterns 3B attached on a face of the compositefilm on the side of the resin film 2B. Furthermore, it is preferablethat the resin film 2B comprises a polyimide resin film, the wiringpatterns 3B and the contact pins 3 aB are made of a metal of Ni or a Nialloy plated with Au (gold) and the metal film 500 comprises a film of ametal of Ni or a Ni alloy or a Cu (copper) alloy plated with Au.

Fabrication steps of the contact probe 1B according to the firstembodiment will now be described with reference to the steps shown inFIGS. 3(a)-3(h).

Base Metal Layer Forming Step

In FIG. 3 a, a base metal layer 6 is formed on a support metal plate 5made of stainless steel by Cu (copper) plating. A photoresist layer 7 isformed on top of the base metal layer 6.

Pattern Forming Step

In FIGS. 3(b) and 3(c), after forming the photoresist layer 7 on thebase metal layer 6, a photomask 8 having a predetermined pattern isprovided on the photoresist layer 7. The photoresist layer 7 isdeveloped, portions used to form the wiring patterns 3B are removed, andopening portions 7 a are formed on the remaining photoresist layer 7.Although in this embodiment the photoresist layer 7 is formed by anegative photoresist, the desired opening portions 7 a may be formed byusing a positive photoresist.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the photoresist layer7 shown in FIG. 3(c) corresponds to the photomask 8. However, thepattern forming steps of FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) would not be necessary if,for example, a film or the like including holes 7A as shown in FIG. 3(c)could be provided wherein the pattern forming steps of FIGS. 3(a) and3(b) would be unnecessary.

Electrolytic Plating Step

In FIG. 3(d), a Ni layer N that will constitute the wiring patterns 3Bis formed in the openings 7 a by plating. After the plating, thephotoresist layer 7 is removed as shown in FIG. 3(e).

Film Pasting Step

In FIG. 3(f), the resin film 2B′ is attached onto portions of the Nilayer N other than the front end portions 3 aB (i.e., portions thatconstitute the contact pins 3 aB) of the wiring patterns 3B with anadhesive agent 2 a. The resin film 2B′ is a two-layer tape where themetal film (copper foil) 500 is integrated onto a polyimide resin PI(resin film 2B). Before the film pasting step, a ground face is formedon the metal film 506 of the two-layer tape by carrying out copperetching using photolithography. In the film pasting step, the polyimideresin PI of the two-layer tape is pasted onto the Ni layer N via theadhesive agent 2 a. However, the metal film 500 may be constructed ofNi, an Ni alloy or the like in place of the copper foil.

Separating Step

In FIG. 3(g), a portion constituted by the resin film 2B′, the wiringpatterns 3B and the base metal layer 6 is separated from the supportmetal plate 5. This portion is subjected to Cu etching removing the basemetal layer 6 so that only the wiring patterns 3B are adhered to theresin film 2B′ (not shown).

Gold Coating Step

In FIG. 3(h), Au plating is performed so as to form an AU layer onexposed surfaces of the wiring patterns 3B. Then, an Au layer AU isformed on peripheral surfaces of the contact pins 3 aB projecting fromthe resin film 2B (not shown). Accordingly, although the fabricationsteps are the same as those of a conventional contact probe 1A up to theelectrolytic plating step, according to the fabrication process of thecontact probe 1B of the first embodiment, the process is different fromthe conventional process at the film pasting step where the compositefilm 2B′ comprising the resin film 2B and the metal film 500 is adheredonto the Ni layer.

As shown in the sectional view of FIG. 4, the contact probe 1B of thefirst embodiment is formed by adhering two composite films 2B′ eachcomprising the resin film 2B and the metal film 500 onto both faces ofthe wiring patterns 3B via the adhesive agents 2 a. The contact probe 1Bof the first embodiment is fabricated as a single body and is cutthereafter along diagonal lines by which four sub pieces of contactprobes 1B are simultaneously fabricated (these processing steps aresimilar to conventional processing steps).

A contact probe according to the first embodiment fabricated by theprocessing of FIGS. 3(a)-3(h) was prepared at normal temperature andhaving a polyimide resin film thickness of 50 μm with a beryllium copperalloy film pasted on pins made of Ni having a pitch of 100 μm, a pincount of 100 and a distance between pins of 9.900 mm. A conventionalcontact probe was prepared at normal temperature and having a polyimideresin film thickness of 50 μm pasted on pins made of Ni having a pitchof 100 μm, and a pin count of 100 for comparison.

The contact probe according to the first embodiment and the conventionalcontact probe were held for 3 hours in an atmosphere at a temperature of25° C. and a humidity of 70% and thereafter, the distances between pinsat the both ends of the contact probes were measured. The distancebetween pins at the both ends of the contact probe according to thefirst embodiment was 9.8976 mm whereas the distance between pins at theboth ends of the conventional contact probe was 9.8712 mm. It wasdiscovered that the change in the distance between pins at both ends inthe structure where the beryllium copper alloy film was pasted wassmaller.

As described above, according to the contact probe 1B of the firstembodiment, the change in the distance between pins at the both ends ofthe contact probe 1B is small even under an environment of hightemperature and high humidity. Accordingly, the front end portions ofthe contact pins 3 aB of the contact probe 1B can be accurately broughtinto contact with positions of pads of a semiconductor chip undervarious environments, which can significantly contribute to thedevelopment of the semiconductor industry by reducing inspectionfailures of a semiconductor chips due to contact probe misalignment.

A second embodiment of the present invention will now be described withreference to FIGS. 5-9. In FIGS. 5-9, notation IC designates a contactprobe, notation 2C designates a resin film and notation 3C designateswiring patterns.

In FIGS. 5 and 6, the contact probe 1C of the embodiment is providedwith a structure where the wiring patterns 3C are constructed of a metaland are attached on one face of the polyimide resin film 2C. The frontend portions of the wiring patterns 3C project towards a central openingportion K of the resin film 2C from end portions of the resin film 2C(i.e., respective sides of the central opening portion K) and therebyconstitute contact pins 3 aC. Furthermore, contact terminals 3 bC arebrought into contact with contact pins 3 aC on the side of a top side ofa probe tester and are formed at rear end portions of the wiringpatterns 3C. The wiring patterns 3C are made of a Ni—Mn alloy where thecontent of Mn is set in a range of 0.05 wt. % to 1.5 wt. % and Au iscoated on the surface of the contact pins 3 aC.

The fabrication steps of the contact probe 1C will now be described. Thebase metal layer forming step and the pattern forming step are the sameas those in the first embodiment. In the electrolytic plating step, aNi—Mn alloy layer N for constituting the wiring patterns 3C is formed atthe opening portions 7 a by plating. In this case, as an example of thecomposition of a plating solution for making Mn included in the alloy, anickel sulfamate bath added with manganese sulfamate is used, an amountof Mn in the plating solution and the electric density in plating arecontrolled and set such that the Mn content falls in a range of 0.05 wt.% to 1.5 wt. %. The removal of the photoresist layer 7 after plating isthe same as that in the first embodiment. The film pasting step, theseparating step and the gold coating step are the same as those in thefirst embodiment. After performing the above-described steps, thecontact probe 1C having wiring patterns 3C adhered onto the resist film2C as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 is completed.

An example of a case where the contact probe 1C is applied to a probedevice 1C. (e.g., a chip carrier) used for burn-in test, etc. of adevice under test will be explained with reference to FIGS. 7-9. InFIGS. 7-9, notation 10C designates a probe device, notation 11Cdesignates a frame main body, notation 12C designates a positioningplate, notation 13C designates a top plate, notation 14C designates aclamp, and notation 15C designates a bottom plate. In addition, thecontact probe 1C according to the present invention functions as aflexible substrate when integrated into the probe device 10C since thecontact probe 1C is soft and easy to bend.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the probe device 1C is provided with theframe main body 11C, the positioning plate 12C that is fixed to theinside of the frame main body and where an opening portion is formed,the contact probe 1C, the top plate (support member) 13C supporting thecontact probe 1C and pressing the contact probe 1C from above, and theclamp 14C fixing the upper plate 13C to the frame main body 11C by aclamping force applied above the upper plate 13C. The bottom plate 15Cfor mounting and holding an IC chip I is attached to a lower portion ofthe frame main body 11C by bolts 15 aC. The central opening portion K ofthe contact probe 1C and the contact pins 3 aC are formed incorrespondence with the shape of the IC chip I and an arrangement of thecontact pads on the IC chip I. This arrangement allows for thecapability of monitoring a contact state between the contact pins 3 aCand the contact pads of the IC chip I from the central opening portionK. In addition, cut-off portions may be formed at corners of the centralopening portion K of the contact probe 1C so that the contact probe 1Ccan be easily deformed during integration of the probe device 10C. Thepitch of contact terminals 3 bC of the contact probe 1C is set to bewider than the pitch of the contact pins 3 aC. This configurationfacilitates a matching between contact pads of an IC chip I having anarrow pitch and the contact terminals 3 bC of the contact probe 1C onthe side of a probe device 10C having a pitch wider than that of thecontact pads of the IC chip I. When the contact pads are not formed atall of four sides of the IC chip I, but rather are arranged partially onspecific sides, the contact pins 3 aC may be installed only onrespective sides of the central opening portion K corresponding to sidesof the IC chip I having the contact pads. However, it is preferable topress the opposed sides of the IC chip I by forming the contact pins 3aC on opposed two sides of the central opening portion K in order tohold the IC chip I stably in place.

The procedure of attaching the IC chip I to the probe device 10C willnow be explained.

Tucking Step

First, the positioning plate 12C is mounted on attaching portions of theframe main body 11C, on which the contact probe 1C is arranged byaligning the central opening portion K with an opening portion of theframe main body 11C. Then, the top plate 13C is mounted on the centralopening portion K by similarly aligning an opening portion thereof withthe central opening portion K, on which the clamp 14C is stopped to theframe main body 11C. The clamp 14C is a kind of a leaf spring having abent portion at its center and therefore, the clamp 14C has a functionof pressing and fixing the top plate 13C onto the contact probe 1C. Inan integrated state the attached IC chip I is observable from above viaopenings in the center of the probe device 10C.

Furthermore, the top plate 13C and the clamp 14C are formed in asubstantially rectangular shape in a plane view and are integrated suchthat the contact terminals 3 bC of the contact probe 1C are extendedoutwardly from respective long sides. Portions of the lower face of thetop plate 13C are inclined at a predetermined angle in the vicinity ofan opening of the top plate 13C so that the contact pins 3 aC of thecontact probe 1C are inclined downwardly at a predetermined angle asshown in FIG. 9. The IC chip I is mounted on the bottom plate 15C with aside having wiring directed upwardly. In this state the bottom plate 15Cis tucked to the frame main body 11C from below. At this moment, the ICchip I is pinched by the contact pins 3 aC and the bottom plate 15Csince the distance between the front ends of the contact pins 3 aC ofthe contact probe 1C and the upper face of the bottom plate 15C is setto be smaller than the thickness of the IC chip I by a predeterminedamount.

Positioning Step

Next, the positioning plate 12C is moved or the IC chip I is moved usinga needle-like jig or the like while observing the positions of thecontact pads of the IC chip I with respect to the front ends of thecontact pins 3 aC from above via the provided openings. Fine adjustmentand setting is performed such that corresponding front ends of thecontact pins 3 aC and the contact pads of the IC chip I are aligned andbrought into contact with each other. If the dicing accuracy of the ICchip I is excellent and the outer shape and positions of the contactpads are relatively stabilized, the positioning plate 12C and thecontact probe 1C are previously adjusted with respect of the positionalrelationship therebetween. In this way, the contact pins 3 aC and thecontact pads of the IC chip I can be pre-aligned with each other withoutrequiring the above-described fine adjustment process. Thereby, thepositioning step of the IC chip I is not necessary and the attachingoperation of the IC chip I can be performed efficiently and easily.

Fixing Step

After the positioning step, the bottom plate 15C is decisively fixed tothe frame main body 11C. At this moment, so-called “overdriving” isimposed on the inclined contact pins 3 aC, wherein the front ends of thecontact pins 3 aC are brought into contact with the contact pads of theIC chip I by a predetermined pressing force and are firmly electricallyconnected. This state is quite similar to a state where the IC chip I ismounted to a so-called multi tip module or the like. In this state, theoperation of the IC chip I can be tested with high reliability. If bumpsare provided at the contact pads of the IC chip I or the front ends ofthe contact pins 3 aC of the contact probe 1C, the overdriving operationcan be performed in a range of a height of the bump and accordingly, thecontact pins 3 aC may not be previously inclined.

The probe device 10C is a chip carrier and is as small as about 1 inchsquare (about 2.5 cm square) and is preferable to a dynamic burn-in testor the like. According to the probe device 10C, the contact pins 3 aC ofthe contact probe 1C are formed by a nickel-manganese alloy containingmanganese in a range of 0.05 wt. % to 1.5 wt. % and therefore, thecontact pins 3 aC are provided with a hardness of Hv 350 or higher evenafter having been heated at high temperatures, for example, 500° C. Thatis, the hardness of the Ni—Mn alloy is not extremely lowered by hightemperature heating. Furthermore, if the amount of manganese (Mn) isbelow 0.05 wt. %, the hardness of Hv 350 or higher cannot be attained.If the amount of manganese exceeds 1.5 wt. %, stresses at the front endportions are increased and the front end portions may be bent andfurther, the material becomes very brittle and the toughness isdeteriorated. The high hardness and toughness necessary for the contactprobe 1C can be obtained by setting the Mn content within theabove-prescribed range. Accordingly, the probe device 10C integratedwith the contact probe 1C is particularly preferable as a chip carrierused in a reliability test accompanied by high temperature heating suchas a burn-in test or the like. In addition, although in theabove-described embodiment the contact probe 1C is applied to a probedevice 10C that is a chip carrier, the contact probe 1C may be adaptedto other measurement jigs, form factors, etc.

A third embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS.10-15 where a contact probe 16D according to the present invention isprovided as a probe for an IC and is integrated with mechanical parts60D to form a probe device (probe card) 70D. FIGS. 10 and 11 aredrawings showing the contact probe 16D cut out in a predetermined shapeas an IC probe and FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along a line C-C ofFIG. 11. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, holes 2 bD and holes 2 cD areprovided in a resin film 2D for positioning and fixing the contact probe16D. A window 2 dD is provided for sending signals obtained from wiringpatterns 3D to a printed circuit board 20D (FIG. 13) via contactterminals 3 bD.

As shown in FIG. 13, the mechanical parts 60D comprise a mounting base30D, a top clamp 40D and a bottom clamp 50D. The contact probe 16D isassembled with the top clamp 40D attaching the printed circuit board20D, the mounting base 30D, and the contact probe 16D via the bottomclamp 50D, bolts 42D, and bolt holes 41D (FIG. 14). Furthermore, thecontact probe 16D are pressed by the bottom clamp 50D by which thewiring patterns 3D are kept in a predetermined inclined state andcontact pins 3 aD of the wiring patterns 3D are pressed onto an IC chipunder test.

FIG. 14 shows the probe device 70D after assembly. FIG. 15 is asectional view taken along a line E-E of FIG. 14. As shown in FIG. 15,the front ends of the wiring patterns 3D, that is, the contact pins 3 aDare brought into contact with an IC chip I by the mounting base 30D.Positioning pins 31D for adjusting the position of the contact probe 16Dare provided on the mounting base 30D. In this way, the wiring patterns3D and the IC chip I are accurately positioned by inserting thepositioning pins 3 ID into the positioning holes 2 bD of the contactprobe 16D. Elastic bodies 51D provided in the bottom clamp 50D arepressed against portions of the wiring patterns 3D at the windows 2 dDprovided in the contact probe 16D. In this way, the contact terminals 3bD are brought into contact with electrodes 21D of the printed wiringboard 20D and signals obtained from the wiring patterns 3D can betransmitted via the electrodes 21D.

When a probe test of the IC chip I is performed using the probe device70D as described above, the probe device 70D is inserted and attached toa prober and electrically connected to a tester and predeterminedelectric signals are sent to the IC chip I on a wafer via the contactpins 3 aD of the wiring patterns 3D. Thereby, output signals from the ICchip I are transmitted to a tester via the contact pins 3 aD wherebyelectric properties of the IC chip I are measured.

According to the contact probe 16D and the probe device 70D integratedwith the contact probe 16D, similar to the first embodiment, the contactpins 3 aD are made of a nickel-manganese alloy containing manganese in arange from 0.05 wt. % to 1.5 wt. % and therefore, the contact pin 3 aDis provided with the hardness of Hv 350 or more even after hightemperature heating. Furthermore, the amount of manganese (Mn) falls ina range of 0.05 wt. % or more and 1.5 wt. % or less and therefore, thehigh hardness and toughness necessary for the contact probe areobtained.

A fourth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS. 16-21.The contact probe 16D of the third embodiment is cut in a predeterminedshape so as to form an IC probe. However, according to the fourthembodiment the contact probe is cut in a predetermined shape so as toform an LCD probe. The LCD contact probe is designated by notation 200Eand a resin film is designated by notation 201E in FIGS. 16-18. As shownin FIG. 19, an LCD probe device 100E includes a contact probe pinchingbody (supporting member) 110E fixed to a frame 120E in a shape of apicture frame. The contact pins 3 aE project from the contact probepinching body 110E and are brought into contact with terminals (notshown) of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 90.

In FIG. 18, the contact probe pinching body 110E is provided with a topclamp 111E and a bottom clamp 115E. The top clamp 111E is provided witha first projection 112E for pressing onto the front ends of the contactpins 3 aE, a second projection 113E for pressing onto terminals 301E onthe side of a TABIC (wiring substrate having substrate side wiringpatterns) 300E, and a third projection 114E for pressing onto leads302E. The bottom clamp 115E comprises an inclined plate 116E, anattaching plate 117E and a bottom plate 118E. The contact probe 200E ismounted on the inclined plate 116E and the terminals 301E of the TABIC300E are mounted between the resin film 201E and the second projection113E. The top clamp 111E is next bolted on such that the firstprojection 112E is disposed on the resin film 201E and the secondprojection 113E is brought into contact with the terminals 301E.

In FIG. 20, the contact probe pinching body 110E is assembled byclamping the contact probe 200E via the top clamp 111E, the bottom clamp115E, and bolts 130E. As shown in FIG. 21, the contact probe pinchingbody 110E is fixed by bolts 131E to the frame 120E. To perform electrictesting of the LCD 90 by using the LCD probe device 100E, the front endsof the contact pins 3 aE of the LCD probe device 100E are brought intocontact with terminals (not shown) of the LCD 90. Signals obtained fromthe contact pins 3 aE are transmitted via the TABIC 300E.

According to the LCD probe device 100E, the contact pins 3 aE which arebrought into contact with the terminals of the LCD 90 are made of aNi—Mn alloy having the manganese content of 0.05 wt. % to 1.5 wt. % andtherefore, similar to the second embodiment and the third embodiment,the contact pins 3 aE are provided with the hardness of Hv 350 or highereven after high temperature heating. An LCD probe device 100E with acontact probe having high hardness and toughness is thus obtainedaccording to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

A fifth embodiment of the present invention will now be described withreference to FIGS. 22-24. In FIG. 22, the contact pins 3 aE of thecontact probe 200E have a front portion that may be bent upward (S1),bent downward (S2) or be in a normal position (S). As shown in FIG. 23,the contact pins 3 aE are pressed against the terminals of the LCD 90via the resin film 201E, the first projection 112E, and the inclinedplate 116E. When the probe pins 3 aE are bent in the S and S2 positions,the probe pins 3 aE contact the terminals of the LCD 90. However, whenthe probe pins 3 aE are bent in the S1 position a sufficient contactpressure may not be obtained. Accordingly, contact failure of thecontact pins 3 aE against the terminals of the LCD 90 occurs and anaccurate electric testing cannot be performed.

In FIG. 24, the fifth embodiment adopts a contact probe pinching body(support member) 110E including a highly elastic film 400E, such as anorganic or inorganic material, which overlaps the resin film 201E andpresses against front end portions of the contact pins 3 aE. The elasticfilm 400E is sandwiched between the first projection 112E of the topclamp 111E and the resin film 201E. The elastic film 400E overlaps theresin film 201E and projects over the front end portions of the contactpins 3 aE, in order to press the front end portions of the contact pins3 aE against the terminals of the LCD 90 when the front end portions ofthe contact pins 3 aE are bent in the S, S1 and S2 positions (FIG. 22).It is preferable that the highly elastic film 400E comprises ceramics orpolyethylene terephthalate if it is an organic material and comprisesceramics, particularly alumina film if it is an inorganic material.Furthermore, when the contact pins 3 aE are pressed against theterminals of the LCD 90, the highly elastic film 400E presses from abovethe contact pins 3 aE and even with respect to position S1 allows for afirm contact between the terminal of the LCD 90 and the contact pins 3aE. Thereby, a uniform contact pressure can be obtained at the frontends of the respective contact pins 3 aE according to the fifthembodiment of the present invention. Moreover, the front ends of thecontact pins 3 aE can be firmly brought into contact with the terminalsof the LCD 90 and accordingly, measurement failure due to contactfailure can be eliminated. In addition, the contact pressure on thecontact pins 3 aE can be adjusted by changing how far the elastic film400E projects over the contact pins 3 aE.

A sixth embodiment of the present invention will now be described withreference to FIGS. 25 and 26. In FIG. 25, the resin film 201E of thecontact probe 200E which has been explained with reference to the fourthembodiment, is made of, for example, polyimide resin. With thisconstruction an elongation may occur due to absorbed moisture causing aninterval t between the contact pins 3 aE to change. This results in thecontact pins 3 aE not making good contact with predetermined positionsof the terminals of the LCD 90 and accordingly accurate electric testcannot be performed. Hence, according to the sixth embodiment, as shownin FIG. 26, a metal film 500E is provided on top of the resin film 201E(e.g., by pasting) and the change in the interval t between the contactpins 3 aE is decreased even during a change in humidity. In this way,the contact pins 3 aE are firmly brought into contact with predeterminedpositions of the terminals of the LCD. Accordingly, positional shift ofthe respective contact pins 3 aE does not typically occur and the frontend portions of the contact pins 3 aE are brought into contact with theterminals of the LCD 90 with fine precision. Therefore, damage caused bymisalignment of the contact pins 3 aE made of a Ni—Mn alloy having highhardness can be avoided. In addition, it is preferable that the metalfilm 500E is made of a material, such as Ni, a Ni alloy, Cu, or a Cualloy.

A seventh embodiment will now be described with reference to FIG. 27. Inthis embodiment, in addition to a metal film 500E provided on the resinfilm 201E, a highly elastic film 400E similar to that of the fifthembodiment is also provided. The elastic film 400E ensures that auniform contact pressure is obtained irrespective of a bending state ofthe front ends of the contact pins 3 aE. In this way, electrical testingcan be performed accurately by minimizing the change in the interval tbetween the contact pins 3 aE.

A eighth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS. 28 and29. As shown in FIG. 28, this embodiment includes a second resin film202E provided on the metal film 500E attached on the resin film 201E. Asshown in FIG. 29, the highly elastic film 400E is provided on the secondresin film 202E (e.g., by lamination). Here, different from the seventhembodiment, the second resin film 202E is installed to preventshort-circuiting between the terminals of the TABIC 300E arranged abovea rear end portion of the metal film 500E (not shown) and the metal film500E. Furthermore, if only the metal film 500E attached on the resinfilm 201E is provided, oxidation of the metal film 500E exposed to theatmosphere occurs. Therefore, oxidation is prevented by coating themetal film 500E with the second resin film 202E.

A ninth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS. 30 and31. According to the fifth, the seventh and the eighth embodiments, thehighly elastic film 400E is pressed against the contact pins 3 aE. Thus,friction between the highly elastic film 400E and the contact pins 3 aEdue to repeated use causes a distortion in the contact pins 3 aEresulting in shifted contact points. Therefore, according to the ninthembodiment, as shown in FIG. 30, a film 201 aE is provided having awidth wider than that in the conventional example, wherein X1>X2, whereX1 designates a length of the contact pin 3 aE projected from the metalfilm 500E, and X2 designates a length of the wide resin film 201 aEprojected from the metal film 500E. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 31,when the high elastic film 400E projects a shorter distance than thewide resin film 201 aE, the highly elastic film 400E is brought intocontact with the soft and wide resin film 201 aE. In this way, theelastic film 400E is not brought into direct contact with the contactpins 3 aE and accordingly, the contact pins 3 aE can be prevented frombending to the left and right direction. According to the LCD probedevice 100E in the ninth embodiment, the wide resin film 201 aE isformed longer on the front end side than the highly elastic film 400Eand serves as a buffer when the highly elastic film 400E presses thecontact pins 3 aE. Therefore, even with repeated use, the contact pins 3aE are not warped and bent by friction due to the highly elastic film400E and stable contact can be maintained with respect to the terminalsof the LCD 90.

A tenth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS. 32 and33. According to this embodiment, the second resin film 202E is providedon the metal film 500E with X1>X2, where X1 designates a length of thecontact pins 3 aE projected from the metal film 500E, and X2 designatesa length of the wide resin film 201 aE projected from the metal film500E. A shown in FIG. 33, the highly elastic film 400E is provided onthe second resin film 202E (e.g., by lamination) such that the highlyelastic film 400E projects a shorter distance than the wide resin film201 aE. According to the LCD probe device 100E of the tenth embodiment,respective advantages of the fourth through the ninth embodiments, suchas the high hardness of the contact pins 3 a, a uniform distribution ofcontact pressure, a restriction of the positional shift, a stabilizationof contact pressure, and a prevention of short circuit caused by themetal film are achieved. In addition, contact probes of the fourththrough the tenth embodiments may be adopted in a chip carrier or aprobe device for an IC probe. In this case, the shape of the contactprobe, the wiring, the pitch and arrangement of the contact pins, etc.are set in correspondence with the respective probe device to which thecontact probe is integrated.

Plating conditions in the electrolytic plating step for forming wiringpatterns and contact pins of the contact probes 1N the above-describedrespective embodiments, are obtained based on the following testresults. The plating solution for including Mn in Ni is a nickelsulfamate bath added with manganese sulfamate. With regard to the amountof manganese contained in a Ni plated film, the plating is conductedunder the following conditions since the plating is controlled by theamount of manganese in the plating solution and the current density inplating:

-   -   Manganese amount: 20 through 35 g/l    -   Current density: 1.0 through 10 A/dm²

The plating conditions are set in the above-described ranges becausewhen the manganese amount is less than 20 g/l and the current density isless than 1.0 A/dm², the amount of manganese content in the film issmall and a desired hardness cannot be obtained. However, when themanganese amount exceeds 35 g/l and the current density exceeds 10A/dm², the amount of manganese content is increased to the point thatstresses of the plated film typically are increased and the filmtypically becomes very brittle. In addition, the plating may beperformed with a nickel sulfate bath as the base instead of a sulfamatebath. However, stresses are reduced in the plating by using the nickelsulfamate bath as compared to the nickel sulfate bath.

The following Table 1 shows an experimental result of the manganeseconcentration and the hardness before and after heat treatment for acase when the current density is varied while the manganese amount iskept constant (i.e., 30 g/l). In addition, manganese concentrationversus hardness is shown in the graph of FIG. 34. TABLE 1 Relationshipbetween manganese concentration in film and hardness. Mn conc. Heattreatment temperature Current density wt. % Unheated (HV) 500° C. (Hv)A/dm² Remarks 0.03 322 265 0.5 Insufficient hardness 0.05 365 351 1.00.10 387 369 2.0 0.40 406 390 3.0 0.70 412 402 5.0 1.00 430 411 7.0 1.50487 476 10 2.00 550 532 14 Very brittle

An eleventh embodiment of a contact probe according to the presentinvention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 35-38. In FIGS.35-38, notation 1F designates a contact probe, notation 2F designates aresin film and notation 3F designates wiring patterns. According to thecontact probe 1F of the embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 35 and 36, aportion of length L of the contact pin 3 aF is bent downward at a middleposition X. The length L is in a range of 0.1 mm to 2.0. mm. The frontend portion of the contact pin 3 aF is constituted such that when it isbrought into contact with a pad P (object of measurement), an angle αwith respect to a contact face Pa is in a range of 60° to 90°. Withrespect to a base end portion of the contact pin 3 aF, an angle β withrespect to the contact face Pa is in a range of 0°to 30°.

The fabrication steps of the contact probe 1F will now be explained. Thebase metal layer forming step, the pattern forming step, theelectrolytic plating step, the film pasting step, the separating stepand the gold coating step are the same as those in the first embodiment.The difference of the present embodiment and the first embodiment is theaddition of a contact pin bending step and a polishing step.

Contact Pin Bending Step

The contact pins 3 aF are bent using a fine mold so as to form thecontact pins 3 aF having a predetermined angle as shown in FIGS. 35 and36.

Contact Pin Polishing Step

As a result of bending the contact pins 3 aF, if an irregularity resultsin the length (height) of the contact pins 3 aF, the pins are madeuniform by polishing. As a polishing method, the contact pins 3 aF arefixed and the bent front end portions of the contact pins 3 aF aresanded with sand paper in a rotating motion.

In fabrication of the contact pins 3 aF, it is difficult to form a finepattern on the mask in accordance with a desired shape. Accordingly, asshown in FIG. 36, the front end portion of the contact pin 3 aFcorresponding to an end portion of the pattern have concave curvedfaces. Therefore, when a lower side 3 bF of the concavely curved face ofthe contact pin 3 aF is brought into contact with the pad P, a localneedle pressure in the contact area is increased.

In the conventional tungsten needle probe, when the tungsten needle isbrought into contact with the substantially planar pad matrix, the padmatrix is liable to be scrubbed off. Hence, according to the presentembodiment, the contact pin 3 aF is bent at the middle portion X and theangles α and β of the front end portion and the base end portion of thecontact pin 3 aF with respect of the contact face Pa are changed.Thereby, the angle α (contact angle) can be set to a large value withoutincreasing the angle β (i.e, the angle of the resin film 2F with respectof the contact face Pa). In this way, the pad matrix P can be preventedfrom being impaired due to scrubbing without excessively increasing thescrub distance and without increasing the height of the probe device.

According to the present embodiment, when the angle α is 60° or more thepad matrix P is not impaired. The angle α is set to 90° or less becausewhen a is greater than 90°, the skin of the pad P cannot be excellentlyscrubbed off in the scrubbing operation and sufficient conductivity isnot ensured resulting in contact failure during testing. Furthermore,the angle β is 30° or less so that the scrubbing distance is notexcessively increased and the front end of the contact pin 3 aF does notproject from the pad P in the scrubbing operation. The angle β is set is₀° or more because when β is less than 0°, a sufficient overdrivingamount (arrow mark Z in FIG. 35) in the scrubbing operation cannot beprovided.

In addition, it is known with regard to the scrubbing distance that thedistance is more or less smaller than a calculated value since thecontact pin 3 aF is bent or the front end portion of the contact pin 3aF is frictionally engaged with the contact face Pa. Furthermore,according to the present embodiment, a face 3 cF highly parallel to thecontact face Pa as compared with conventional unbent contact pins isformed at the front end portion of the contact pin 3 aF by bending thecontact pins as shown in FIG. 36. Conventionally, in positioning acontact pin on a pad, a method where light is irradiated from below thecontact pin and light reflected from the contact pin is detected bywhich the position of the contact pin is recognized is used. Accordingto the present embodiment, the face 3 cF formed so as to have a highervertical degree with respect to the direction of irradiating light.Therefore, a sufficient amount of light is reflected and the detectionof position is facilitated.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the length L from thebent position X to the front end portion of the contact pin 3 aF is 2.0mm or less so that in the overdriving operation the amount of bending atthe portion of the length L can be restrained to a small value. In thisway, the contact needle pressure with respect to the pad P issubstantially constant and an excellent scrubbing operation isperformed. In addition, the length L is set to 0.1 mm or more so thatskin scraped off in the scrubbing operation, dirt, etc. is preventedfrom adhering to the inner face of the bent portion of the contact pin 3aF. In addition, according to the present embodiment, polishing isperformed at the bent front end portion of the contact pin 3 aF.Accordingly, even if irregularities with respect to the length (height)of the contact pin 3 aF occur due to the bending operation, the lengthis made uniform by the polishing operation. In this way, the planarityof the front end portion of the contact pin 3 aF is promoted and thecontact resistance can be reduced.

FIG. 37 is a sectional view of the contact probe 1F. Furthermore,similar to the third embodiment, the contact probe 1F is integrated withmechanical parts so as to form a probe device (probe card), as shown inFIG. 38. In FIG. 38, a lower face 32F of a mounting base 30F isgradually inclined downward toward the front end side with an angle γ ina range of 0° to 30°with respect to the contact face Pa. The front endside of the resin film 2F is brought into contact with the lower face32F of the mounting base 30F. The lower face 32F of the mounting base30F is inclined downward and supports the front end side of the resinfilm 2F so that the contact pin 3 aF is brought into contact with an ICchip I. According to the probe device of the present embodiment, theangle of inclination γ of the lower face 32F supporting the front endside of the resin film 2F, is set to be equal to the angle β. Therefore,with respect to the base end portion of the contact pin 3 aF projectingfrom the front end of the resin film 2F along the resin film 2F, theangle with respect to the contact face Pa can be stably maintained to avalue of β (i.e., equal to γ). Thereby, in the scrubbing operation theangles α and β can be set to the predetermined values by moving theprobe device vertically downward so as to contact the face Pa.

A twelfth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS. 39and 40.

According to the present embodiment, the contact probe 1F is cut in apredetermined shape so as to form an LCD probe. This embodiment is thesame as in eleventh embodiment, except that the contact probe 1F is cutin the shape of an LCD probe instead of an IC probe. In FIGS. 39 and 40,the LCD contact probe is designated by notation 200G and the resin filmis designated by notation 201G. The contact probe 200G is integratedinto an LCD probe device in a similar way as in the fourth embodiment.In addition, in the LCD probe device of the present embodiment, thecontact pins 3 aG are bent at a middle position so that advantagessimilar to those of the eleventh embodiment are achieved.

A thirteenth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS.41-43. In FIG. 41, the contact pins 3 aG of the contact probe 200G havea front portion that may be bent upward (S1), bent downward (S2) or bein a normal position (S). As shown in FIG. 42, the contact pins 3 aG arepressed against the terminals of the LCD 90 via the resin film 201G, thefirst projection 112G, and the inclined plate 116G. When the probe pins3 aG are bent in the S and S2 positions, the probe pins 3 aG contact theterminals of the LCD 90. However, when the probe pins 3 aG are bent inthe S1 position a sufficient contact pressure may not be obtained.Accordingly, contact failure of the contact pins 3 aG against theterminals of the LCD 90 occurs and an accurate electric testing cannotbe performed. Furthermore, although the amount of contact pressureexerted by the contact pin 3 aG can be increased or decreased to obtaina desired contact pressure during testing, the amount of contactpressure is limited due to the shape of the contact pins 3 aG.

In FIG. 43, the thirteenth embodiment adopts a contact probe pinchingbody (support member) 110G including a highly elastic film 400G, such asan organic or inorganic material, which overlaps the resin film 201G andpresses against front end portions of the contact pins 3 aE. The elasticfilm 400E is sandwiched between the first projection 112G of the topclamp 111G and the resin film 201G. The elastic film 400G overlaps theresin film 201G and projects over the front end portions of the contactpins 3 aG, in order to press the front end portions of the contact pins3 aG against the terminals of the LCD 90 when the front end portions ofthe contact pins 3 aG are bent in the S, S1 and S2 positions (FIG. 41).It is preferable that the highly elastic film 400G comprises ceramics orpolyethylene terephthalate if it is an organic material and comprisesceramics, particularly alumina film if it is an inorganic material.Furthermore, when the contact pins 3 aG are pressed against theterminals of the LCD 90, the highly elastic film 400G presses from abovethe contact pins 3 aG and even with respect to position S1 allows for afirm contact between the terminal of the LCD 90 and the contact pins 3aG. Thereby, a uniform contact pressure can be obtained at the frontends of the respective contact pins 3 aG according to the thirteenthembodiment of the present invention. Moreover, the front ends of thecontact pins 3 aG can be firmly brought into contact with the terminalsof the LCD 90 and accordingly, measurement failure due to contactfailure can be eliminated. In addition, the contact pressure on thecontact pins 3 aG can be adjusted by changing how far the elastic film400G projects over the contact pins 3 aG.

According to the LCD probe device of the thirteenth embodiment, thehighly elastic film 400G is provided so as to exert constant pressure onthe contact pins 3 aG. Even in a case where several contact pins 3 aGare bent in the S1 position, the highly elastic film 400G ensures that auniform contact pressure is obtained for all of the contact pins 3 aGresulting in alignment of all the contact pin 3 aG positions with theangles of the contact pins 3 aG with respect to the terminals maintainedto a desired value. Furthermore, according to a conventional probedevice, excessive contact pressures is required to be applied to thecontact pins 3 aG in order to bring the contact pins 3 aG, includingbent pins, in contact with the terminals which may damage the pad matrixP of a device under test. However, according to the probe device of thepresent embodiment, the uniform contact pressure is provided and theabove discussed problems do not occur.

A fourteenth embodiment of the present invention will now be describedwith reference to FIGS. 44 and 45. In FIG. 44, the resin film 201G ofthe contact probe 200G which has been explained with reference to thefourth embodiment, is made of, for example, polyimide resin. With thisconstruction an elongation may occur due to absorbed moisture causing aninterval t between the contact pins 3 aG to change. This results in thecontact pins 3 aG not making good contact with predetermined positionsof the terminals of the LCD 90 and accordingly accurate electric testcannot be performed. Hence, according to the fourteenth embodiment, asshown in FIG. 45, a metal film 500G is provided on top of the resin film201G (e.g., by pasting) and the change in the interval t between thecontact pins 3 aG is decreased even during a change in humidity. In thisway, the contact pins 3 aG are firmly brought into contact withpredetermined positions of the terminals of the LCD 90. Accordingly,positional shift of the respective contact pins 3 aG does not typicallyoccur even with a change in humidity and the front end portions of thecontact pins 3 aG are brought into contact with the terminals of the LCD90 with fine precision. Therefore, damage caused by misalignment of thecontact pins 3 aG made of a Ni—Mn alloy having high hardness can beavoided. In addition, it is preferable that the metal film 500G is madeof a material, such as Ni, a Ni alloy, Cu, or a Cu alloy.

According to the LCD probe device in the fourteenth embodiment, themetal film 500G is directly attached on the resin film 201G andtherefore, the elongation of the resin film 201G is restrained by themetal film 500G. That is, a deviation in the interval t between thecontact pins 3 aG does not typically occur and the contact pins 3 aG arebrought into contact with the terminals accurately and with fineprecision. Accordingly, the scrubbing operation can be accuratelyperformed since the contact pins 3 aG are precisely located on the padsP and the angles α and β at the front end portion and the base endportion of the contact pin 3 aG with respect to the pad P will typicallynot deviate from a desired value. Furthermore, the metal film 500G canbe used as a device ground whereby a design taking an impedance matchingup to the vicinity of the front end of the contact probe can beperformed and adverse influence caused by reflection noise can beprevented in performing a test at a high frequency region.

A fifteenth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIG. 46.In this embodiment, in addition to a metal film 500G provided on theresin film 201G, a highly elastic film 400G similar to that of thetwelfth embodiment is also provided. The elastic film 400G ensures thata uniform contact pressure is obtained irrespective of a bending stateof the front ends of the contact pins 3 aG. In this way, electricaltesting can be performed accurately by minimizing the change in theinterval t between the contact pins 3 aG. The LCD probe device accordingto the fifteenth embodiment includes contact pins 3 aG bent at a middleso that advantages similar to those of the eleventh, the thirteenth andthe fourteenth embodiments are achieved.

A sixteenth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS. 47and 48. As shown in FIG. 47, this embodiment includes a second resinfilm 202G provided on the metal film 500G attached on the resin film201G. As shown in FIG. 48, the highly elastic film 400G is provided onthe second resin film 202G (e.g., by lamination). Here, different fromthe fifteenth embodiment, the second resin film 202G is installed toprevent short-circuiting between the terminals of the TABIC 300Garranged above a rear end portion of the metal film 500G (not shown) andthe metal film 500G. Furthermore, if only the metal film 500G attachedon the resin film 201G is provided, oxidation of the metal film 500Gexposed to the atmosphere occurs. Therefore, oxidation is prevented bycoating the metal film 500G with the second resin film 202G. Also withrespect to the LCD probe device according to the sixteenth embodiment,the contact pins 3 aG are bent at a middle position.

A seventeenth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS.49 and 50. According to the thirteenth, the fifteenth and the sixteenthembodiments, the highly elastic film 400G is pressed against the contactpins 3 aG. Thus, friction between the highly elastic film 400G and thecontact pins 3 aG due to repeated use causes a distortion in the contactpins 3 aG resulting in shifted contact points. Therefore, according tothe seventeenth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 49, a film 201 aG isprovided having a width wider than that in the conventional example,wherein X1>X2, where X1 designates a length of the contact pin 3 aGprojecting from the metal film 500G, and X2 designates a length of thewide resin film 201 aG projecting from the metal film 500G. Furthermore,as shown in FIG. 50, when the high elastic film 400G projects a shorterdistance than the wide resin film 201 aG, the highly elastic film 400Gis brought into contact with the soft and wide resin film 201 aG. Inthis way, the elastic film 400G is not brought into direct contact withthe contact pins 3 aG and accordingly, the contact pins 3 aG can beprevented from bending to the left and right direction. According to theLCD probe device of the seventeenth embodiment, the wide resin film 201aG is formed longer on the front end side than the highly elastic film400G and serves as a buffer when the highly elastic film 400G pressesthe contact pins 3 ag. Therefore, even with repeated use, the contactpins 3 aG are not warped and bent by friction due to the highly elasticfilm 400G and stable contact can be maintained with respect to theterminals of the LCD 90. In addition, when the contact pin 3 aG of theprobe device is bent at its middle position, not only the contactpressure of the contact pin 3 aG is made uniform by the wide film 201 aGbut the pad matrix P is not impaired and the scrubbing distance is notincreased more than necessary.

An eighteenth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS.51 and 52. According to this embodiment, the second resin film 202G isprovided on the metal film 500G with X1>X2, where X1 designates a lengthof the contact pins 3 aG projecting from the metal film 500G, and X2designates a length of the wide resin film 201 aG projecting from themetal film 500G. A shown in FIG. 52, the highly elastic film 400G isprovided on the second resin film 202G (e.g., by lamination) such thatthe highly elastic film 400G projects a shorter distance than the wideresin film 201 aG. Even with the LCD probe device of the eighteenthembodiment having contact pins 3 aG with bent middle portions, theabove-described advantages are achieved.

A nineteenth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS. 53and 54. In FIGS. 53 and 54, notation 30H designates a contact probe,notation 31H designates a resin film, notation 32H designates mainwiring patterns, notation 33H designates a contact probe main body,notation 34H designates a contact probe branch portion, notation 35Hdesignates branch wiring patterns, and notation 36H designates contactpins. According to the contact probe 30H of the nineteenth embodiment,electrical measurements are conducted by bringing the contact probe 30Hin contact with electrodes of an IC chip having a rectangular shape on awafer. As shown in FIGS. 53 and 54, the contact probe 30H comprises thecontact probe main body 33H wherein a plurality of main wiring patterns32H made of Ni or a Ni alloy are pasted on one face of a polyimide resinfilm 31H. The contact probe branch portions 34H are integrally formedwith the contact probe main body 33H by being branched to left and rightfrom an intermediary portion of the contact probe main body 33H.Furthermore, the contact probe branch portions 34H are provided with thebranch wiring patterns 35H formed by dividing portions of the mainwiring patterns 32H to the left and right (e.g., left and right sideportions). In addition, the front end portions of the main wiringpatterns 32H are provided with the contact pins 36H projecting from anend portion of the resin film 31H. The surfaces of the contact pins 36Hare coated with Au (gold) to prevent oxidation With respect to thefabrication steps of the contact probe 30H, the base metal layer formingstep, the pattern forming step, the electrolytic plating step, the filmpasting step, the separating step, and the gold coating step are thesame as those in the first embodiment.

A probe device (probe card) 41H integrating the contact probe 30Hcorresponding to an IC chip to be measured (object of measurement) willnow be described with reference to FIG. 53. According to the contactprobe 30H of the present invention, the main wiring patterns 32H and thebranch wiring patterns 35H are formed on the thin resin film 31H.Therefore, the total assembly is soft and flexible and is easy tointegrate into a probe device, etc. As shown in FIG. 53, the mechanicalparts comprise a mounting base (support member) 42H, a top clamp 43H,and a bottom clamp 44H. The contact probe 30H is arranged in a centralwindow (rectangular opening) 45 aH formed on a printed wiring board 45H.The top clamp 43H is attached to the mounting base 42H by bolts (notshown) and is fixed onto the printed wiring board 45H so that endportions of the contact probe 30H are pinched. The bottom clamp 44H isnext attached to the lower side of the printed wiring board 45H viabolts. Furthermore, the contact probe main body 33H and the contactprobe branch portions 34H of the contact probe 30H are positioned bybolts (not shown) screwed onto the printed wiring board 45H and passingthrough the top clamp 43H and positioning holes 30 bH of the contactprobe 30H. In addition, the contact pins 36H of the contact probe 30Hare positioned by pins (not shown) attached to the mounting base 42H andwhich pass through the two front end positioning holes 30 bH that areformed at the vicinity of the contact pins 36H.

The contact probe main body 33H is arranged with a rear end portion atthe side of the printed wiring board 45H opposed to the contact pins36H. The two contact probe branch portions 34H are respectively arrangedwith rear end portions thereof at sides on the both sides of the sidewhere the contact probe main body 33H is arranged. The main wiringpatterns 32H and the branch wiring patterns 35H are connected so as tobe brought in contact with wiring patterns on the side of the printedwiring board (not shown) which are formed on the respective sides of theprinted wiring board 45H. The lower face of the mounting base 42H isinclined so that the contact pins 36H are kept in a constant inclinedstate. The mounting base 42H presses against the contact probe 30H suchthat the contact pins 36H contact against the IC chip. According to theabove-described probe device 41H, the respective front end portions ofthe contact probes 30H are in a constant inclined state due to themounting base 42H so that the contact pins 36H are brought into contactwith electrodes on one side of the IC chip at a predetermined angle.

When a probe test of the IC chip is performed using the above-describedprobe device 41H, the probe device 41H is inserted and attached to aprober (not shown) and is electrically connected to a tester (not shown)whereby predetermined electric signals (input signals) are sent to themain wiring patterns 32H and the branch wiring patterns 35H,respectively, via the wiring patterns on the side of the substrate atthe respective sides of the printed wiring board 45H. Furthermore, inputsignals at the main wiring patterns 32H and the branch wiring patterns35H are sent to the IC chip on a wafer from the contact pins 36H.Furthermore, output signals from the IC chip transmitted to the contactpins 36H, are transmitted to the main wiring patterns 32H, the branchwiring patterns 35H; and the wiring patterns on the side of thesubstrate arranged at the respective sides of the central window 45 aHof the printed wiring board 45H. In this way, the output signals aretransmitted to the tester via the wiring patterns on the side of thesubstrate by which the electric properties of the IC chip are measured.

The above-described contact probe 30H comprises the contact probe mainbody 33H including the main wiring patterns 32H, and the two contactprobe branch portions 34H integrally formed therewith by being branchedfrom the contact probe main body 33H. The contact probe branch portions34H are provided with the two branch wiring patterns 35H formed bybranching portions of the main wiring patterns 32H. In this way, it ispossible to connect the branch wiring patterns 35H to locations otherthan those of the main wiring patterns 32H (e.g., to the two sides ofthe central window 45 aH where the main wiring patterns 32H are notarranged). That is, even if the electrodes are concentrated on one sideof the IC chip, the main wiring patterns 32H connected to that side ofelectrodes are branched to the branch wiring patterns 35H and dispersedto other locations. Furthermore, the contact probe main body 33H and thecontact probe branch portions 34H are integrally formed. Therefore, thewiring can be formed with high dimensional accuracy so that a positionalshift between the main wiring patterns 32H and the branch wiringpatterns 35H does not occur.

Therefore, according to the probe device 41H integrated with the contactprobe 30H, the contact probe main body 33H and the two contact probebranch portions 44H are distributed to the plurality of sides of thecentral window 45 aH in the printed wiring board 45H. The main wiringpatterns 32H and the two branch wiring patterns 35H can separately beconnected to the wiring patterns on the side of the substrate at thethree sides of the central window 45 aH. Thus, even with an IC chiphaving a number of electrodes concentrated on one side, wiring do nothave to be concentrated on one side of the central window 45 aH and theconnecting operation is facilitated by an arrangement space that iswidened without decreasing the pitch of the wiring patterns (electrodes)on the side of the substrate.

A twentieth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIG. 55.In FIG. 55, notation 50H designates a contact probe, notation 51Hdesignates contact pins, notation 52H designates a contact probe mainbody, and notation 53H designates a contact probe branch portion. Unlikethe contact pins 36H arranged in parallel on opposed sides of thecentral window 45 aH of the nineteenth embodiment, in the twentiethembodiment the contact pins 51H of the contact probe 50H are arranged inparallel with a diagonal line T of the central window 45 aH. Inaddition, unlike the contact probe branch portions 34H formed on theleft and right of the contact probe main body 33H and separatelyarranged on the three sides of the central window 45 aH of thenineteenth embodiment, in the twentieth embodiment one contact probebranch portion 53H is formed by branching from one side of the contactprobe main body 52H. Furthermore, the main wiring patterns 54H and thebranch wiring patterns 55H are respectively arranged on two sides of thecentral window 45 aH opposed to the diagonal lines T and arerespectively connected so as to contact wiring patterns on a side of thesubstrate to which they are distributed. In other words, according tothe probe device of the twentieth embodiment, the contact pins 51H ofthe contact probe 50H are aligned along the diagonal line T of thecentral window 45 aH. Accordingly, an IC chip I having electrodesconcentrated on one side, is arranged along the diagonal line T so thatthe contact pins 51H are brought into contact with the electrodes onthat side. Furthermore, the contact probe main body 52H and the contactprobe branch portion 53H are distributed to the left and right of thetwo sides of the central window 45 aH. The main wiring patterns 54H andthe branch wiring patterns 55H are separately connected to the wiringpatterns on the side of the substrate at the respective two sides.Therefore, the wiring patterns connected to the electrodes concentratedon one side of the IC chip I, are distributed to the left and right. Inthis way, a large number of wiring can be arranged to be divide into thetwo sides without a need to concentrate all of the wiring on one side ofthe central window 45 aH.

A twenty-first embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS.56 and 57. In FIGS. 56 and 57, notation 60H designates a probe device,notation 61H designates a contact probe, notation 62H designates acontact probe main body, notation 63H designates a contact probe branchportion and notation 64H designate a folding intermediate portion.Unlike the contact probe 50H divided into the contact probe main body52H and the contact probe branch portion 53H symmetrically with respectto the left and right direction and centered on the contact pins 50H ofthe twentieth embodiment, in the twenty-first embodiment the contactprobe branch portion 63H is branched from one side portion of thecontact probe main body 62H via the folding intermediate portion 64H, asshown in FIG. 56. Furthermore, unlike the twentieth embodiment where thecontact probe main body 52H and the contact probe branch portion 53H arerespectively distributed to the two sides of the central window 45 aH,in the probe device 60H of the twenty-first embodiment the contact probemain body 62H and the contact probe branch portion 63H of the contactprobe 61H are folded at the folding intermediate portion 64H andrespectively distributed above and below a central window 65 aH of aprinted wiring board (substrate for wiring) 65H, as shown in FIG. 57.

In other words, the rear end portion of the contact probe main body 62Hand the rear end portion of the contact probe branch portion 63H arepinched respectively between a top clamp 66H and the printed wiringboard 65H and between the printed wiring board 65H and a bottom clamp67H. In this way, rear end portions of main wiring patterns 68H and 69Hare brought into contact with and fixed to wiring patterns 70H on thefront and back surfaces of the substrate 65H. In addition, front endpositioning holes 72H are formed in the vicinity of contact pins 71H ofthe contact probe 61H. The contact pins 71H are positioned on a mountingbase 73H attached to the lower face of the top clamp 66H by pins 74Hthat pass through the front end positioning holes 72H. The contact probemain body 62H and the contact probe branch portion 63H which areintegrally formed on a film, are bent and folded at the intermediatefolding portion 64H by which they are distributed to the surfaces of thefront and back faces of the printed wiring board 65H. In this way, themain wiring patterns 68H and the branch wiring patterns 69H can beseparately connected to the wiring patterns 70H on the front and backsides of the substrate of the printed wiring board 65H so that wiring isnot concentrated on one face of the printed circuit board 65H and aconnection is facilitated due to the doubled arrangement spacing of thewiring patterns 70H on the front and back sides of the substrate.

A twenty-second embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS.58-60. In FIG. 58, a front end portion of the contact pin 36H of thecontact probe 30H, as explained in the nineteenth embodiment, may bebent in the S (normal), S1 (bent upward), S2 (bent downward) positions.In FIG. 59, although the resin film 31H arranged on the lower face ofthe mounting base 42H allows the contact pins 36H to press againstterminals of an IC chip I in the S and S2 positions, in the S1 position,sufficient contact pressure may not be obtained. Therefore, contactfailure of the contact pin 36H with the IC chip I may occur resulting ininaccurate electrical testing of the IC chip I. Accordingly, the probedevice 110AH of the twenty-second embodiment includes a highly elasticfilm 400H comprising an organic or inorganic material, as shown in FIG.60. The elastic film 400H aligns contact pins 36H bent in any one of theS, S1 and S2 positions so that they make positive contact with theterminals of the IC chip I. The highly elastic film 400H is provided ona resin film 201H (e.g., by lamination, adhesion, or a fixing means,etc.) of the contact probe 200AH. The elastic film 400H projects fromthe resin film 201H over the top portion of the contact pin 36H and isarranged on a lower face of the mounting base 42H. It is preferable thatthe highly elastic film 400H comprises ceramics or polyethyleneterephthalate if it is an organic material and comprises ceramics,particularly alumina film if it is an inorganic material. Furthermore,when the contact pins 36H are pressed against the terminals of the ICchip I, the highly elastic film 400H presses from above the contact pins36H and even with respect to position S1 allows for a firm contactbetween the terminal of the IC chip I and the contact pins 36H. Thereby,a uniform contact pressure can be obtained at the front ends of therespective contact pins 36H. Moreover, the front ends of the contactpins 3 aG can be firmly brought into contact with the terminals of theIC chip I and accordingly, measurement failure due to contact failurecan be eliminated. In addition, the contact pressure on the contact pins36H can be adjusted by changing how far the elastic film 400H projectsover the contact pins 36H.

A twenty-third embodiment of the present invention will now be describedwith reference to FIGS. 61 and 62. In FIG. 61, the resin film 201H ofthe contact probe 200AH which has been explained with reference to thetwenty-second embodiment, is made of, for example, polyimide resin. Withthis construction an elongation may occur due to absorbed moisturecausing an interval t between the contact pins 36H to change. Thisresults in the contact pins 36H not making good contact withpredetermined positions of the terminals of the IC chip I andaccordingly accurate electrical testing cannot be performed. Hence,according to the twenty-third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 62, a metalfilm 500H is provided on top of the resin film 201H (e.g., by pasting)and the change in the interval t between the contact pins 36H isdecreased even during a change in humidity. In this way, the contactpins 36H are firmly brought into contact with predetermined positions ofthe terminals of the IC chip I. Accordingly, positional shift of therespective contact pins 36H does not typically occur even with a changein humidity and the front end portions of the contact pins 36H arebrought into contact with the terminals of the IC chip I with fineprecision. Therefore, damage caused by misalignment of the contact pins36H made of a Ni—Mn alloy having high hardness can be avoided. Inaddition, it is preferable that the metal film 500H is made of amaterial, such as Ni, a Ni alloy, Cu, or a Cu alloy.

A probe device 110BH according to a twenty-fourth embodiment will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. 63. The contact probe 200CH includeselastic film 400H provided on the metal film 500Hby adhesion or a fixingmeans (not shown) similar to the above-described twenty-secondembodiment. In this way, a uniform contact pressure is obtainedirrespective of bending state of the front end of the contact pin 36Hand electrical testing can be accurately performed by minimizing achange in the interval t between the contact pins 36H.

A twenty-fifth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS.64 and 65. According to the twenty-second and the twenty-fourthembodiments, the highly elastic film 400H is pressed against the contactpins 36H. Thus, friction between the highly elastic film 400H and thecontact pins 36H due to repeated use causes a distortion in the contactpins 36H resulting in shifted contact points. Therefore, according tothe twenty-fifth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 64, a film 201 aH isprovided having a width wider than that in the conventional example,wherein X1>X2, where X1 designates a length of the contact pin 36Hprojecting from the metal film 500H, and X2 designates a length of thewide resin film 201 aH projecting from the metal film 500H. Furthermore,as shown in FIG. 65, when the high elastic film 400H projects a shorterdistance than the wide resin film 201 aH, the highly elastic film 400His brought into contact with the soft and wide resin film 201 aH. Inthis way, the elastic film 400H is not brought into direct contact withthe contact pins 36H and accordingly, the contact pins 36H can beprevented from bending to the left and right direction. According to theprobe device 110DH, the wide resin film 201 aH is formed longer on thefront end side than the highly elastic film 400H and serves as a bufferwhen the highly elastic film 400H presses the contact pins 36H.Therefore, even with repeated use, the contact pins 36H are not warpedand bent by friction due to the highly elastic film 400H and stablecontact can be maintained with respect to the terminals of the IC chipI. Furthermore, the contact probe 200EH of the probe device 110DHcomprises the contact probe main body 33H and the contact probe branchportions 34H and advantages thereof are provided.

According to the above-described respective embodiments, the contactprobe is applied to a probe device that is a probe card, however, thecontact probe may be adapted in other measurement jigs, etc. Forexample, the contact probe is applicable to a socket, etc. for testingan IC chip wherein the socket protects the IC chip by holding the ICchip therein and wherein the socket is mounted in a device for a burn-intest of the IC chip, etc. Furthermore, the contact probe may be cut offin a predetermined shape for an LCD and may be integrated to a probedevice for an LCD. For example, the probe device for an LCD may includea contact probe pinching body for pinching a contact probe, and a framein a shape of a picture frame for fixing the contact probe pinchingbody. In this case, front ends of contact pins of the contact probe mayproject from the contact probe pinching body and the front ends may bebrought into contact with terminals of the LCD whereby measurement isperformed.

Although the contact probe branch portions are branched from the contactprobe main body, the contact probe portions branched from the contactprobe branch portions may integrally be formed.

Although the contact pins of the contact probe are arranged only on oneside of an IC chip to be tested, the contact probe may be arrangedsimilarly on of the IC. Furthermore, a contact probe that is integrallyformed such that a plurality of contact pins are simultaneously arrangedat a plurality of sides of an IC chip, may be adopted. Thereby, a numberof parts of the probe device can be reduced.

A twenty-sixth embodiment of a contact probe according to the presentinvention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 66-70. In FIGS.66-70, notation 301 designates a contact probe for long sides, notation31I designates a resin film, notation 32I designates main wiringpatterns, notation 33I designates a contact probe main body, notation341 designates branch wiring patterns, notation 35I designates a branchwiring plate and notation 361 designates contact pins for long sides.The contact probe 301 for long sides, according to the twenty-sixthembodiment, is used to perform electrical measurements by being broughtinto contact with electrodes on long sides of an IC chip I having arectangular shape on a wafer. As shown in FIG. 67, the contact probe 30Icomprises the contact probe main body 33I where a plurality of the mainwiring patterns 321 made of Ni or a Ni alloy are pasted on one face ofthe polyimide resin film 31I and the branch wiring plate 35I of aflexible print substrate having the branch wiring patterns 34I formedfrom Cu (copper). The main wiring patterns 32I have the contact pins 361for a long side, front end portions of the contact pins 36I projectingfrom an end portion of the resin film 31I. In addition, with respect tothe main wiring patterns 321, the surfaces of the contact pins 361 for along side are coated with Au (gold) for preventing oxidation of the Nior Ni alloy.

As shown in FIG. 68, the branch wiring plate 35I is connected to thecontact probe main body 33I by pasting the front end portion of thebranch wiring plate 35I to a middle portion of the contact probe mainbody 33I. The front end portions of the branch patten wirings 34I areelectrically connected to portions of the main wiring patterns 32I(every other wiring according to the embodiment).

The fabrication steps of the contact probe main body 33I of the contactprobe 30I for long sides will now be explained. The base metal layerforming step, the pattern forming step, the electrolytic plating step,the film pasting step, the separating step, and the gold coating stepare the same as those in the above-described first embodiment. Thedifference between the present embodiment and the first embodiment is asfollows.

Fabrication of Branch Wiring Plate

The branch wiring plate 351 is fabricated by forming a Cu thin film onone face of the resin film 31I. The Cu thin film is selectively removedby etching so that the branch wiring patterns 341 of Cu are formed andby cutting the film in a predetermined shape corresponding to thecontact probe main body 331.

A probe device (probe card) 41I formed by integrating the contact probe30I to mechanical parts will now be described with reference to FIGS.66-70. The contact probe 30I corresponds to a long side of an IC chip I,and comprises the contact probe main body 331 and the branch wiringplate 35I. In addition, according to the contact probe 30I of thepresent invention, the main wiring patterns 321 are formed on the thinresin film 311 so that the resulting structure is soft, flexible andeasy to integrate in a probe device, etc. As shown in FIG. 66, 67, 69and 70, the mechanical parts comprise mounting bases (support members)42AI and 42BI, a top clamp 431, sub top clamps 44I, bottom clamps 45I,and sub bottom clamps 46I.

First, the mounting bases 42AI and 42BI are attached to the lower facesurrounding a central window 43 aI of the top clamp 43I by bolts 47I andthe two sub top clamps 441 are arranged at stepped portions 43 bI at theexternal sides of the top clamp 43I formed in parallel to long sides ofthe central window 43 aI. Next, a rear end connecting portion 48I of thecontact probe main body 33I is arranged on the lower face of the sub topclamp 44I with the side of the main wiring patterns 321 directeddownwardly and axial lines of rear end positioning holes 48 aI formed atthe rear end connecting portion 48I aligned with axial lines of top sidepositioning holes 44 aI formed at the sub top clamp 44I.

Furthermore, a printed wiring board (substrate for wiring) 50I isarranged at the lower face of the top clamp 431 to interpose the sub topclamp 44I and the rear end portion of the contact probe main body 33I.The printed wiring board 50I is respectively formed with a centralsubstrate window 50 aI arranged at a central portion thereof so as tosurround the respective mounting bases 42AI and 42BI, two long sidewindows 50 bI separated from each other at the two long sides of thecentral substrate window 50 aI, and long side supporting portions 50 cIbetween the central substrate window 50 aI and the long side windows 50bI.

In attaching the printed wiring board 50I, axial lines of substrate sidepositioning holes 50D1 formed in the vicinities of the long side windows50 bI are aligned with the axial lines of the rear end positioning holes48 aI and the top side positioning holes 44 aI. Furthermore, firstadjusting pins 51I are inserted through the substrate side positioningholes 50 dI and the rear end positioning holes 48 aI into the top sidepositioning holes 44 aI, thereby positioning the sub top clamp 441, thecontact probe main body 33I and the printed wiring board 50I. In thisway, the rear end portion of the main wiring patterns 321 of the contactprobe main body 331 are electrically connected to surface side wiringpatterns (wiring patterns on the side of the substrate) 52I which areelectrodes formed on the surface of the printed wiring board 50I. Inaddition, the contact probe main body 33I passes from the surface sideto the back face of the long side window 50 bI and is disposed on thelower face of the long side support portion 50 cI. The long side contactpins 36I are arranged on the lower face of the mounting base 42AI.

Next, axial lines of front end positioning holes 33 aI formed at thevicinities of the long side contact pins 36I are aligned with axiallines of base side positioning holes 42 aI formed at the mounting base42 aI. The second adjusting pins 52I are inserted into the front endpositioning holes 33 aI and into the base side positioning holes 42 aI,thereby positioning the front end side of the contact probe main body33I and the mounting base 42AI. Furthermore, an intermediate connectingportion 53I formed at an intermediate portion of the contact probe mainbody 33I is arranged on the lower face of a long side supporting portion50 cI. Axial lines of intermediate positioning holes 53 aI formed at theintermediate connecting portion 53I, are aligned with axial lines ofsupport side positioning holes 50 eI formed at the long side supportingportion 50 cI.

In addition, a front end connecting portion 54I of the branch wiringplate 35 is made to overlap the intermediate connecting portion 53I ofthe contact probe main body 33I, by directing the side of the branchwiring patterns 341 to the side of the contact probe main body 43I.Axial lines of branch front end positioning holes 54 aI formed at thefront end connecting portion 54I are aligned with axial lines of theintermediate positioning holes 53 aI. With this configuration, thirdadjusting pins 55I are inserted into the branch front end positioningholes 54 aI and the intermediate positioning holes 53 aI, and into thesupport portion side positioning holes 50 eI, thereby positioning thebranch wiring plate 35I, the contact probe main body 331 and the longside supporting portion 50 cI. As shown in FIG. 68, the branch wiringpatterns 34I of the front end connecting portion 54I are electricallyconnected to the predetermined ones of the main wiring patterns 32I(every other wiring according to the embodiment) at the intermediateconnecting portion 53I. Furthermore, with respect to a rear endconnecting portion 561 of the branch wiring plate 351, the firstadjusting pins 51I are inserted through branch rear end positioningholes 56 aI formed at the rear end connecting portion 561. The branchwiring patterns 34I of the rear end connecting portion 56I areelectrically connected onto back face side of the wiring patterns(wiring patterns on the side of the substrate) 57 which are electrodesformed on the rear face of the printed wiring board 50I.

Next, the sub bottom clamp 461 is positioned and fixed to the lower faceof the long side supporting portion 50 cI by bolts 581, pinching theintermediate connecting portion 531 of the contact probe main body 33Iand the front end connecting portion 541 of the branch wiring plate 35I.Furthermore, the bottom clamp 451 is and positioned fixed to the topclamp 43I by bolts 591, pinching the rear end connecting portion 481 ofthe contact probe main body 331, the printed wiring board 501, and therear end connecting portion 56I of the branch wiring plate 351 which arepositioned. In other words, the contact probe main body 331 and thebranch wiring plate 351 comprise the long side contact probe 301, byconnecting the intermediate connecting portion 53I and the front endconnecting portion. The main wiring patterns 321 are branched by thebranch wiring patterns 34I and the both wirings are electricallyconnected respectively to the surface side wiring patterns 52I and theback face side wiring patterns 57I of the printed wiring board 501.

In addition, short side contact probes 601 corresponding to electrodesat short sides of an IC chip I are arranged on the lower face of theprinted wiring board 50I on the sides of short sides of the centralwindow 43 aI. The short side contact probes 601 are positioned byinserting short side rear end adjusting pins 62I into rear endconnecting portions 61I of the short side contact probes 601.Furthermore, the short side contact probes 60I are formed by fabricationsteps similar to those of the above described contact probe main body331 and short side wiring patterns (not shown) made of Ni or a nickelalloy are provided on a resin film. Front end portions of the short sidewiring patterns projected from the resin film constitute short sidecontact pins 63I. In the above-described positioning state, the rear endconnecting portions 61I of the short side contact probes 60I are fixedto the printed wiring board 501 by being pinched between the bottomclamp 451 and the printed wiring board 50I so that the short side wiringpatterns formed at the rear end connecting portions 61I are connected toshort side substrate wiring patterns (not shown) formed on the surfaceof the printed wiring board 50I.

Next, front end connecting portions 641 of the short side contact probes601 are arranged on the lower faces of the mounting bases 42BI which arearranged on the sides of short sides of the central window 43 aI. Theshort side front end adjusting pins 65I are inserted into the front endconnecting portions 64I and into base side positioning holes 42 aIformed on the sides of the short sides of the central window 43 aI inthe mounting base 42BI.

Thereby, the front end connecting portions 641 of the short side contactprobe 60I and the mounting base 42BI are positioned. In addition,pressing grooves 66I respectively directed toward the side of theprinted wiring board 50I, are formed at the bottom clamps 45I. The subtop clamps 441, the sub bottom clamps 46I, and elastic bodies 67I formedby rubber, etc. are embedded into the pressing grooves 66I. Theseelastic bodies 67I press the contact probe main body 33I, the branchwiring plate 35I, and the short side contact probes 60I. Thus, the sidecontact probes 60I are brought into contact with the elastic bodies onthe side of the printed wiring board 50I, whereby the wiring patternswhich are arranged opposed to each other are brought into contact andare electrically connected.

According to the probe device 41I constituted by the above-describedintegrating operation, the long side contact probes 301 and the shortside contact probes 601 are pressed by the sub bottom clamps 46I and thebottom clamps 451. In this way, the respective front end portions arebrought into constant inclined states by the mounting bases 42AI and42BI and the long side contact pins 36I and the short side contact pins63I are respectively brought into contact with electrodes on the longsides and the short sides of the IC chip I at predetermined angles.

When a probe test of the IC chip I is performed using the probe device411 that is constructed as described above, the probe device 41I isinserted and attached to a prober and is electrically connected to atester and predetermined electric signals (input signal) arerespectively sent to the main wiring patterns 32I, the branch wiringpatterns 341, and the short side wiring patterns via the surface sidewiring patterns 52I, back face side wiring patterns 571, and the shortside substrate wiring patterns of the printed wiring board 501. In thisway, the input signals at the branch wiring patterns 341 are transmittedto the main wiring patterns 32I of the intermediate connecting portion53I at the front end connecting portion 54I and are sent to the IC chipI on a wafer from the long side contact pins 36I of the main wiringpatterns 32I along with the input signals from the surface side wiringpatterns 52I.

Conversely, the output signals outputted from the IC chip I to the longside contact pins 36I, are transmitted to the main wiring patterns 32Iand are transmitted to the branch wiring patterns 341 where only theoutput signals at predetermined ones of the main wiring patterns 32I aretransmitted at the intermediate connecting portion 53I. Furthermore, theoutput signals from the IC chip I to the short side contact pins 63I aretransmitted to the short side wiring patterns. In this way, the outputsignals transmitted through main wiring patterns 321, the branch wiringpatterns 341, and the short side wiring patterns, are transmitted to atester via the surface side wiring patterns 52I, the back face sidewiring patterns 57I, and the short side substrate wiring patterns sothat electric properties of the IC chip I are measured.

The long side contact probe 30I comprises the contact probe main body33I and the branch wiring plate 351. The contact probe main body 33Iincludes the main wiring patterns 32I formed thereon. The branch wiringplate 35I is connected to the contact probe main body 33I and the branchwiring patterns 341 are connected to the main wiring patterns 32I. Thebranch wiring patterns 341 are formed in the branch wiring plate 35I.Therefore, portions of the main wiring patterns 32I are distributed tothe branch wiring patterns 341 and accordingly, the branch wiringpatterns 341 can be connected to locations separately from those of themain wiring patterns 32I. In other words, even if electrodes of the ICchip I are concentrated on one side (long side) of the IC chip I, themain wiring patterns 32I connected to the side with the electrodes arebranched and divided by the branch wiring patterns 34I and are connectedto other locations. Therefore, according to the probe device 411integrated with the long side contact probe 30I, the contact probe mainbody 33I and the branch wiring plate 351 are distributed to the surfaceand the back face of the printed wiring board 501. The main wiringpatterns 32I and the branch wiring patterns 34I can separately beconnected to the surface side wiring patterns 521 and the back facewiring patterns 571 of the printed wiring board 501. Accordingly, evenwith an IC chip I where a number of electrodes are concentrated on oneside, wiring is not concentrated on one face of the printed circuitboard 501 and connection is facilitated by the doubled arrangementwithout reducing the pitch of the wiring patterns (electrodes) of theprinted wiring board 50I.

A twenty-seventh embodiment will now be described with reference toFIGS. 71-73. In FIG. 71, a front end portion of the contact pin 3 aI ofthe contact probe 301, as explained in the twenty-sixth embodiment, maybe bent in the S (normal), S1 (bent upward), S2 (bent downward)positions. In FIG. 72, although the resin film 31I arranged on the lowerface of the mounting base allows the contact pins 3 aI to press againstterminals of an IC chip I in the S and S2 positions, in the S1 positionsufficient contact pressure may not be obtained. Therefore, contactfailure of the contact pin 3 aI with the IC chip I may occur resultingin inaccurate electrical testing of the IC chip I. Accordingly, theprobe device 110AI of the twenty-seventh embodiment includes a highlyelastic film 400I comprising an organic or inorganic material, as shownin FIG. 73. The elastic film 400I aligns contact pins 3 aI bent in anyone of the S, S1 and S2 positions so that they make positive contactwith the terminals of the IC chip I. The highly elastic film 400I isprovided on a resin film 201I (e.g., by lamination, adhesion, or afixing means, etc.) of the contact probe 200AI. The elastic film 400Iprojects from the resin film 201I over the top portion of the contactpin 3 aI and is arranged on a lower face of the mounting base 42AI. Itis preferable that the highly elastic film 400I comprises ceramics orpolyethylene terephthalate if it is an organic material and comprisesceramics, particularly alumina film if it is an inorganic material.Furthermore, when the contact pins 3 aI are pressed against theterminals of the IC chip I, the highly elastic film 400I presses fromabove the contact pins 3 aI and even with respect to position S1 allowsfor a firm contact between the terminal of the IC chip I and the contactpins 3 aI. Thereby, a uniform contact pressure can be obtained at thefront ends of the respective contact pins 3 aI. Moreover, the front endsof the contact pins 3 aI can be firmly brought into contact with theterminals of the IC chip I and accordingly, measurement failure due tocontact failure can be eliminated. Furthermore, the contact probe 200AIof the probe device 110AI comprises the contact probe main body 33I andthe branch wiring plate 35I and accordingly, advantages of the structurethereof can be obtained. In addition, the contact pressure on thecontact pins 3 aI can be adjusted by changing how far the elastic film400H projects over the contact pins 3 aI.

A twenty-eighth embodiment of the present invention will now bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 74 and 75. In FIG. 74, the resin film201I of the contact probe 200AI which has been explained with referenceto the twenty-seventh embodiment, is made of, for example, polyimideresin. With this construction an elongation may occur due to absorbedmoisture causing an interval t between the contact pins 3 aI to change.This results in the contact pins 3 aI not making good contact withpredetermined positions of the terminals of the IC chip I andaccordingly accurate electrical testing cannot be performed. Hence,according to the twenty-eighth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 75, a metalfilm 500I is provided on top of the resin film 201I (e.g., by pasting)and the change in the interval t between the contact pins 3 aI isdecreased even during a change in humidity. In this way, the contactpins 3 aI are firmly brought into contact with predetermined positionsof the terminals of the IC chip I. Accordingly, positional shift of therespective contact pins 3 aI does not typically occur even with a changein humidity and the front end portions of the contact pins 3 aI arebrought into contact with the terminals of the IC chip I with fineprecision. Also, positional shift of the main wiring patterns 32I withrespect to the branch wiring patterns 341 of the branch wiring plate 35Idoes not typically occur. In addition, it is preferable that the metalfilm 500I is made of a material, such as Ni, a Ni alloy, Cu, or a Cualloy.

A probe device 110 BI according to a twenty-ninth embodiment will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. 76. The contact probe 200CI includesthe metal film 500I provided on the resin film 201I (e.g., by pasting),similar to the twenty-eighth embodiment. In addition, a highly elasticfilm 400I is arranged on the metal film 500I by adhesion or a fixingmeans (not shown), similar to the twenty-eighth embodiment. In this way,a uniform contact pressure is obtained irrespective of bending state ofthe front end of the contact pin 3 aI and further, a change in theinterval t between the contact pins 3 aI is minimized so that electricaltesting can be accurately performed.

A thirtieth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS. 77and 78. According to the twenty-seventh and the twenty-ninthembodiments, the highly elastic film 400I is pressed against the contactpins 3 aI. Thus, friction between the highly elastic film 400I and thecontact pins 3 aI due to repeated use causes a distortion in the contactpins 3 aI resulting in shifted contact points. Therefore, according tothe thirtieth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 77, a film 201 aI is providedhaving a width wider than that in the conventional example, whereinX1>X2, where X1 designates a length of the contact pin 3 aI projectingfrom the metal film 500I, and X2 designates a length of the wide resinfilm 201 aI projecting from the metal film 500I. Furthermore, as shownin FIG. 78, when the high elastic film 400I projects a shorter distancethan the wide resin film 201 aI, the highly elastic film 400I is broughtinto contact with the soft and wide resin film 201 aI. In this way, theelastic film 400I is not brought into direct contact with the contactpins 3 aI and accordingly, the contact pins 3 aI can be prevented frombending to the left and right direction. According to the probe device110DI, the wide resin film 201 aI is formed longer on the front end sidethan the highly elastic film 400I and serves as a buffer when the highlyelastic film 400I presses the contact pins 3 aI. Therefore, even withrepeated use, the contact pins 3 aI are not warped and bent by frictiondue to the highly elastic film 400I and stable contact can be maintainedwith respect to the terminals of the IC chip I. Furthermore, the contactprobe 200EI of the probe device 110DI comprises the contact probe mainbody 331 and the branch wiring portions 35I and advantages thereof areprovided.

According to the above-described respective embodiments, the contactprobe for long sides is applied to a probe device that is a probe card,however, the contact probe for long sides may be adapted in othermeasurement jigs, etc. For example, the contact probe for long sides isapplicable to a socket, etc. for testing an IC chip wherein the socketprotects the IC chip by holding the IC chip therein and wherein thesocket is mounted in a device for a burn-in test of the IC chip, etc.Furthermore, the contact probe for long sides may be cut off in apredetermined shape for an LCD and may be integrated into a probe devicefor an LCD. For example, the probe device for an LCD may include acontact probe pinching body for pinching a contact probe, and a frame ina shape of a picture frame for fixing the contact probe pinching body.In this case, front ends of contact pins of the contact probe mayproject from the contact probe pinching body and the front ends may bebrought into contact with terminals of the LCD whereby measurement isperformed.

Although with respect to the connection between the contact probe mainbody 33I and the branch wiring plate 35I, the main wiring patterns 32Iand the branch wiring patterns 34I are electrically connected bybringing them in direct contact with each other, the connection may beperformed by other methods. For example, the connection may be means oftransmitting electric signals by arranging an anisotropic conductionsheet for conducting electricity between the contact probe main body andthe branch wiring plate, whereby overlapped portions of the main wiringpattens and the branch wiring patterns conduct so that electricalsignals are transmitted.

Although only one of the branch wiring plate 35I is connected to thecontact probe main body 33I, a plurality of branch wiring plates may beconnected and the contact probe main body 331 may further be branchedinto a plurality contact probe main bodies.

Although the branch wiring patterns 341 are connected to the main wiringpatterns 321 at every other winding thereof, the connection may beperformed by other arrangement. For example, the main wiring pattens maybe divided by two in the left and right direction and one of them may beconnected to the branch wiring patterns.

Although the branch wiring patterns 341 of the branch wiring plate 35Iare formed by etching a Cu thin film on the resin film, the branchwiring patterns 341 may be formed by using other metals having lowresistance and may be formed by Ni or a Ni alloy similar to the contactprobe main body 33I. However, if the branch wiring plate comprises aflexible substrate having the branch wiring patterns of Cu, moreflexibility and a degree of freedom with respect to portions forconnecting to a printed circuit board, etc. result as compared with acontact probe main body where the main wiring patterns are made of Ni,or a Ni alloy.

As shown in FIG. 79, a contact probe 1K of a thirty-first embodiment ofthe present invention is provided with a structure in which wiringpatterns 3K made of a metal are pasted on one face of a polyimide resinfilm 2K. Contact pins 3 aK comprise projecting front ends of the wiringpatterns 3K from an end portion 2 aK of the resin film 2K. The contactprobe 1K includes a first contact probe 1 aK having narrow pitch wiringpatterns 3K densely formed and a second contact probe 1 bK having widepitch wiring patterns 3K coarsely formed. The wiring patterns 1 aK and 1bK are separately formed are both connected to laminate film faces of abonding face 5K such that the wiring patterns are connected to eachother.

As shown in FIG. 80, the first contact probe 1 aK and the second contactprobe 1 bK are adhered to each other by thermal compression with aninterposing anisotropic conductive tape 7K at the bonding face 5K.Furthermore, the contact probe 1K is connected to a mechanical part 11Kby a fixing member 14K at a positions of positioning holes 4K providedat the second contact probe 1 bK.

The fabrication steps of the contact probe 1K, that is, the firstcontact probe 1 aK and the second contact probe 1 bK will now bedescribed. The base metal layer forming step, the pattern forming step,the electrolytic plating step, the film pasting step, the separatingstep and the gold coating step are the same as those in the firstembodiment. Using above-described steps, the contact probe 1K, that is,the first contact probe 1 aK and the second contact probe 1 bK shown inFIG. 79 and FIG. 80 are separately fabricated and thereafter, they areboth adhered to each other via the anisotropic conductive tape 7K asdescribed above.

FIG. 81 and FIG. 82 are outline views showing a method of adhering thefirst contact probe 1 aK and the second contact probe 1 bK using theanisotropic conductive tape 7K. In FIG. 81, the anisotropic conductivetape 7K is placed between the first contact probe 1 aK and the secondcontact probe 1 bK and the both probes are moved towards each other bypositioning them to approximately align the wiring patterns 3K with eachother. Next, both probes are pressed together by thermal compression.Before the thermal compression, a number of conductive particles 7 aKare present in the tape 7K and are substantially randomly disposed. InFIG. 82, electrical conduction occurs between the first conductive probe1 aK and the second conductive probe 1 bK via the conductive particles 7aK and the wiring patterns 3K. Since the above-described anisotropicconductive tape is used, according to the positioning operationillustrated by FIG. 82, an electrical connection between the wiringpatterns 3K can be achieved if there is no deviation in positioning byan amount that is equal to or more than a difference of the pitchbetween the respective wiring patterns 3K. Therefore, the degree ofallowance in positioning the first contact probe 1 aK and the secondcontact probe 1 bK is enhanced and the electrical connection of thecontact probes 1 aK and 1 bK is facilitated by an adhesive force of thetape.

The procedure for positioning the first contact probe 1 aK, the secondcontact probe 1 bK and the mechanical part 11K to contact pads 21K of anIC, or a glass plate having the same pattern of the contact pads 21K,etc. will be described with reference to FIG. 83 as follows:

-   -   (1) The IC, or a glass plate having the same pattern of the        contact pads 21K, etc. is mounted at a predetermined position on        an integration jig 20K.    -   (2) The second contact probe 1 bK is tacked with the anisotropic        conductive tape 7K and is fitted to positioning pins 20 bK of        the integration jig 20K such that the positioning holes 4K are        aligned. The positions in X and Y directions of the positioning        pins 20 bK can be arbitrarily be set by a manipulator at every        time of operation.    -   (3) The positioning of the contact pads 21K and the second        contact probe 1 bK is conducted by moving the first contact        probe 1 aK using a microscope since the first and second contact        probes 1 aK and 1 bK are tacked to each other and thermally        compressed with the anisotropic conductive tape 7K.    -   (4) The mechanical part 11K for fixing the contact probe is        fitted to the integration jig 20K in alignment with positioning        holes 11 bk and the second contact probe 1 bK is pasted on the        mechanical part 11K using an adhesive agent. In addition, the        first contact probe 1 aK is adhered to the mechanical part 11K        by using removable two face tape, etc. (not shown).    -   (5) The mechanical part 11K is integrated to a PCB (Printed        Circuit Board, not shown) and thereafter, the integration jig        20K is removed.

As mentioned above, in connecting the first contact probe 1 aK and thesecond contact probe 1 bK and connecting the wiring patterns 3K, theanisotropic conductive tape 7K is used and accordingly, a deviation inpositioning is alleviated and positional shift to some degree isabsorbed. Therefore, the degree of allowance in positioning is enhancedwhereby accuracy of positioning is promoted and also, the positioning isfacilitated. Furthermore, in the case of damaged probe contacts 3 aK ora changing of the probe contacts 3 aK pressure, a portion of the bondface 5K adhered by the anisotropic conductive tape 7K is removed andonly the first contact probe 1 aK is exchanged, whereby maintenance isfacilitated.

Furthermore, with respect to the area of the first contact probe 1 aKhaving densely formed wiring patterns 3K as compared to the secondcontact probe 1 bK having coarsely formed wiring patterns 3K, theoccupied area of the first contact probe 1 aK is very small. Therefore,in fabricating the first contact probe 1 aK and the second contact probe1 bK, the area of the first contact probe 1 aK is much smaller than thetotal area of a conventional contact probe. In addition, the generalfabrication yield of the contact probe is governed by whether the pitchof the wiring patterns 3K is wide or narrow and when many portionshaving the narrow pitch are included, the yield is deteriorated.Therefore, the fabrication yield of the first contact probe 1 aK is notmuch different from the fabrication yield of a conventional contactprobe, whereas the fabrication yield of the second contact probe 1 bKhaving a wide area is much improved compared with the yield of theconventional contact probe. Accordingly, the fabrication yield of thecontact probe 1K of the present invention as a whole is improved ascompared with the fabrication yield of a contact probe having onlynarrow pitch portions.

Although according to the thirty-first embodiment, an adhesive materialsuch as epoxy resin or the like is used in bonding the second contactprobe 1 bK and the mechanical part 11K, the bonding can be conductedmechanically.

Although the above-described embodiment includes a case where the firstcontact probe 1 aK and the second contact probe 1 bK are connected toeach other, the present invention is not limited to that embodiment andthere are cases where the contact probe 1K comprises a first contactprobe, a second contact probe, a third contact probe, etc. and thenumber of connections can pertinently be determined in accordance withthe use.

Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 80, the first contact probe 1 aK isconnected to the second contact probe 1 bK and the wiring patterns 3K ofthe second contact probe 1 bK are formed on the resin film 2K.Accordingly, this structure inconvenient, for example, in a case wherethe electrical wiring is intended to lead out from a downward direction.In such a case, at an end of the second contact probe 1 bK opposed to anend at the bond face with respect to the first contact probe 1 aK andthe second contact probe 1 bK, another contact probe similar to thesecond contact probe 1 bK is provided. In this way, the wiring patternsare arranged at the lower side of the resin film in the third contactprobe, whereby wiring can be led out from the lower direction.

In addition, when the pitch of the wiring patterns 3K in the vicinity ofthe bond face of the first contact probe 1 aK and the second contactprobe 1 bK is wide, the wiring of both contact probes can be connectedby bonding wires and the wiring patterns of the second contact probe canbe led out from the lower side.

A thirty-second embodiment of the present invention will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. 84. According to a contact probe IL,similar to the contact probe 1K shown in the thirty-first embodiment, afirst contact probe 1 aL and a second contact probe 1 bL are separatelyfabricated and are connected by an anisotropic conductive tape 7L. Thedifference between the contact probe IL shown in the thirty-secondembodiment and the contact probe 1K shown in the thirty-first embodimentis that wiring patterns 3L of the first contact probe 1 aL includes aportion having a narrow pitch and a portion having a wide pitch. In thiscase, the bonding between the first contact probe 1 aL and the secondcontact probe 1 bL is performed at the portion of the wiring patternshaving the wider pitch. In this way, the allowance of positional shiftof the first contact probe 1 aL and the second contact probe 1 bL in thepositioning operation is further increased as compared with the case ofthe contact probe shown in the thirty-first embodiment.

A thirty-third embodiment of a contact probe according to the presentinvention will now be described. Although not illustrated, thedifference between a contact probe of the thirty-third embodiment andthe contact probe 1K or 1L explained the thirty-first or thethirty-second embodiment is that different from the contact probe usingthe above-described fabrication steps with respect to the second contactprobe, a conventional flexible printed circuit (FPC) is used. In thiscase, when the pitch of the wiring patterns 3 at the bond face 5 of thefirst contact probe 1 a is about 100 μm, an FPC is included as thesecond contact probe 1 b. Therefore, the contact probe can be formedinexpensively without using the second contact probe so that fabricationcost and complexity is reduced.

In addition, according to the thirty-first and the thirty-secondembodiments, the contact probes 1K and 1L are applied to a probe devicethat is a probe card, however, the contact probes 1K and 1L may beadapted in other measurement jigs, etc. For example, the contact probes1K and 1L are applicable to a socket, etc. for testing an IC chipwherein the socket protects the IC chip by holding the IC chip thereinand wherein the socket is mounted in a device for a burn-in test of theIC chip, etc.

A thirty-fourth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS.85 and 86. According to the present embodiment, the contact probes 1Kand 1L cut out in a predetermined shape so as to form an IC probe in thethirty-first and the thirty-second embodiments, are cut in apredetermined shape so as to form an LCD probe. Naturally, the followingexplanation is applicable to a contact probe for an IC probe as well. Acontact probe for an LCD is designated by notation 200M and notation201M designates a resin film. As shown in FIG. 86, similar to thecontact probe 1M of the above-described embodiments, a first contactprobe 200 aM and a second contact probe 200 bM are adhered to each otherusing anisotropic conductive tape 7M at a bond face SM. In this way,wiring patterns 3M are electrically connected. Furthermore, theintegration of the contact probe 200M as a probe device for an LCD isthe same as in previous embodiments concerning the above-describe probedevice for an LCD. Also, with respect to the above-described probedevice for an LCD, a contact probe 200M is formed by connecting thefirst contact probe 200 aM and the second contact probe 200 bM.Accordingly, the positioning operation is facilitated as described withrespect to the contact probes for an IC of the thirty-first and thethirty-second embodiments. In addition, only the first contact probe 200aM needs to be exchanged in order to change a contact probe tip orcontact probe pressure. Accordingly, maintenance is facilitated in asimilar way as in the thirty-first and the thirty-second embodiments.

A thirty-fifth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS.87-89. In FIG. 87, a front end portion of the contact pins 3 aM of thefirst contact probe 200 aM of the contact probe 200M, as explained inthe thirty-fourth embodiment, may be bent in the S (normal), S1 (bentupward), S2 (bent downward) positions. In FIG. 88, although the resinfilm 201M arranged on the lower face of the mounting base 111M allowsthe contact pins 3 aM to press against terminals of an LCD 90 in the Sand S2 positions, in the S1 position sufficient contact pressure may notbe obtained. Therefore, even when single abnormal contact pin ispresent, contact failure of the contact pin 3 aM with the LCD 90 mayoccur resulting in inaccurate electrical testing of the LCD 90.Accordingly, the probe device 110M of the thirty-fifth embodimentincludes a highly elastic film 400M comprising an organic or inorganicmaterial, as shown in FIG. 89. The elastic film 400M aligns contact pins3 aM bent in any one of the S, S1 and S2 positions so that they makepositive contact with the terminals of the LCD 90. The highly elasticfilm 400M is provided on a resin film 201M (e.g., by lamination,adhesion, or a fixing means, etc.) of the contact probe 200 aM. Theelastic film 400M projects from the resin film 201M over the top portionof the contact pin 3 aM and is arranged on a lower face of the mountingbase 111M. It is preferable that the highly elastic film 400M comprisesceramics or polyethylene terephthalate if it is an organic material andcomprises ceramics, particularly alumina film if it is an inorganicmaterial. Furthermore, when the contact pins 3 aM are pressed againstthe terminals of the LCD 90, the highly elastic film 400M presses fromabove the contact pins 3 aM and even with respect to position S1 allowsfor a firm contact between the terminal of the LCD 90 and the contactpins 3 aM. Thereby, a uniform contact pressure can be obtained at thefront ends of the respective contact pins 3 aM. Moreover, the front endsof the contact pins 3 aM can be firmly brought into contact with theterminals of the LCD 90 and accordingly, measurement failure due tocontact failure can be eliminated. In addition, the contact pressure onthe contact pins 3 aM can be adjusted by changing how far the elasticfilm 400M projects over the contact pins 3 aM. According to the probedevice for an LCD of the thirty-fifth embodiment, even if several pins 3aM included in the total of pins 3 aM are bent in the S1 position, thepositions of the pins 3 aM when they are brought into contact with theLCD 90, are corrected by the highly elastic film 400M and the positionsof all of the pins 3 aM are aligned. Accordingly, the contact withrespect to the terminals of the LCD 90 can be performed accurately andeasily by a synergistic effect derived also from the easiness inpositioning which has been shown in the thirty-first and thethirty-second embodiments.

A thirty-sixth embodiment of the present invention will now be describedwith reference to FIGS. 90 and 91. In FIG. 90, the resin film 201M ofthe contact probe 200M which has been explained with reference to thethirty-third embodiment, is made of, for example, polyimide resin. Withthis construction an elongation may occur due to absorbed moisturecausing an interval t between the contact pins 3 aM to change. Thisresults in the contact pins 3 aM not making good contact withpredetermined positions of the terminals of the LCD 90 and accordinglyaccurate electrical testing cannot be performed. Hence, according to thethirty-sixth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 91, a metal film 500M isprovided on top of the resin film 201M (e.g., by pasting) and the changein the interval t between the contact pins 3 aM is decreased even duringa change in humidity. In this way, the contact pins 3 aM are firmlybrought into contact with predetermined positions of the terminals ofthe LCD 90. Accordingly, positional shift of the respective contact pins3 aM does not typically occur even with a change in humidity and thefront end portions of the contact pins 3 aM are brought into contactwith the terminals of the LCD 90 with fine precision. The metal film500M may be used as a ground and preferably that the metal film 500M ismade of a material, such as Ni, a Ni alloy, Cu, or a Cu alloy. Thereason why the above-described materials are preferable as the materialsfor the metal film 500M, is that as described above, when the metal film500M is used as a ground, an excellent electric property can beobtained. Even with the probe device for an LCD according to thethirty-sixth embodiment, the positions of the contact pins do notdeviate regardless of respective bent pins. Therefore, the contact canbe performed accurately with respect to the terminals of the LCD 90 anda synergistic effect is also derived from the easiness in positioning.

A thirty-seventh embodiment will now be described with reference to FIG.92. According to the embodiment, similar to the above-describedthirty-fifth embodiment, the metal film 500M is attached on the resinfilm 201M and further, the highly elastic film 400M is used similar in amanner similar to that of the thirty-fourth embodiment. In this way, auniform conduct pressure is obtained regardless of the bending state ofthe front end portions of the contact pin 3 aM and the change in theinterval t between the contact pins 3 aM is minimized, wherebyelectrical testing can be performed accurately. Even with the probedevice for an LCD according to the thirty-seventh embodiment, similar tothe above-described respective embodiments, accurate positioning can beconducted and the similar operation and effect can be achieved.

A thirty-eighth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS.93 and 94. As shown in FIG. 93, the structure includes a second resinfilm 202M pasted onto the metal film 500M that is attached on the resinfilm 201M. In FIG. 94, the highly elastic film 400M is provided on thesecond resin film 202M. The reason for providing the second resin film202M, is that short circuit between the metal film 500M and a terminal301M of a TABIC 300M is prevented when the terminal 301M is pressed bythe projection 113M of the top clamp 111M in order to connect thecontact probe 200M and the terminal 301M of the TABIC 300M. Furthermore,the surface of the metal film 500M is covered by the second resin film202M so that oxidation can effectively be restrained. Also with theprobe device for an LCD according to the thirty-eighth embodiment, theeffect similar to those in the thirty-first through the thirty-sixthembodiments can be achieved and the effect of preventing short circuitand preventing oxidation can also be achieved.

According to the thirty-fourth, the thirty-sixth and the thirty-seventhembodiments, the highly elastic film 400M is pressed against the contactpins 3 aM. Thus, friction between the highly elastic film 400M and thecontact pins 3 aM due to repeated use causes a distortion in the contactpins 3 aM resulting in shifted contact points. Therefore, according tothe thirty-ninth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 95, a film 201 aM isprovided having a width wider than that in the conventional example,wherein X1>X2, where X1 designates a length of the contact pin 3 aMprojecting from the metal film 500M, and X2 designates a length of thewide resin film 201 aM projecting from the metal film 500M. Furthermore,as shown in FIG. 96, when the high elastic film 400I projects a shorterdistance than the wide resin film 201 aI, the highly elastic film 400Mis brought into contact with the soft and wide resin film 201 aM. Inthis way, the elastic film 400M is not brought into direct contact withthe contact pins 3 aM and accordingly, the contact pins 3 aM can beprevented from bending to the left and right direction. Also in theprobe device for an LCD according to the thirty-ninth embodiment, owingto a synergistic effect of preventing the contact pin 3 aM from bendingin the left and right direction and the above described easiness inpositioning, the contact of the contact pin 3 aM with respect to theterminal of the LCD 90 can be conducted more finely.

A fortieth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS. 97and 98. According to the embodiment, a second resin film 202M isattached on the metal film 500M. In this embodiment X1>X2, where X1designates a length of the contact pin 3 aM projecting from the metalfilm 500M, and X2 designates a length of the wide resin film 201 aMprojecting from the metal film 500M. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 98,the highly elastic film 400M provided on the second resin film 202M islaminated such that it projects a shorter distance over the contact pins3 aM than the wide resin film 201 aM. Also in the probe device for anLCD according to the fortieth embodiment, short circuit between themetal film 500M and the terminal 301M of the TABIC 300M can beprevented. Furthermore, by providing the second resin film 202M, thesurface of the metal film 500M is covered so that oxidation caneffectively be restrained.

A forty-first embodiment of the probe device according to the presentinvention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 99-106. In FIGS.99-106, notation 1N designates a contact probe, notation 2N designates aresin film (film), notation 3N designates wiring patterns, and notation70N designates a probe device (probe card). As shown in FIG. 103, thecontact probe 1N of the present embodiment is provided with thestructure where the wiring patterns 3N made of a metal are attached onone face of the polyimide resin film 2N and the front ends of the wiringpatterns 3N are projected from an end portion of the resin film 2N so asto form contact pins 3 aN. As shown in FIGS. 99-102, according to theprobe device 70N, the contact probes 1N are arranged such that axiallines of the respective contact pins 3 aN are substantially vertical toa contact face Pa of terminal electrodes (object of measurement). Thecontact probes 1N are arranged parallel to each other with interposingspacers 2 eN between faces of the resin films 2N. The spacers 2 eNcomprise a nonconductive material, for example, ceramics etc. andfunction also as supporting bodies for supporting the contact probes 1N.At side portions of resin films 2N, positioning holes 2 hN are providedand ceramic rods 2 jN are inserted through the positioning holes bywhich the positioning of the contact probes 1N is performed. As shown inFIG. 101, a metal film (metal thin plate) 500N is provided opposed towiring patterns 3N with the resin film 2N therebetween. Furthermore,half-etching is performed on the back side of the metal film 500N at apredetermined position in the axial line direction of the contact pin 3aN.

The fabrication steps of the contact probes 1N will now be described.The base metal layer forming step, the pattern forming step, theelectrolytic plating step, the film pasting step, and the separatingstep are the same as those in the first embodiment. The differenceresides in that the following additional step:

Half-Etching Step

A portion of the metal film 500N is half-etched as shown in FIG. 101.The half-etching process in this case, is performed in the step ofetching the metal film 500N by using a photolithography technology,where all of a metal (copper) is not etched but the etching process isfinished in the middle of the processing. Thereafter, the gold coatingstep is performed similar to the above-described first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 100 and FIG. 105, the metal film 500N is provided up tothe vicinity of the contact pin 3 aN with a length L of contact pin 3 aNprojecting past the metal film 500N. The length L is fixed to 5 mm orless and the metal film 500N can be used as a ground, whereby a designtaking an impedance matching up to the vicinity of the front end of theprobe device 70N can be performed and adverse influence caused byreflection noise can be prevented in performing a test at a highfrequency region. Furthermore, the metal film 500N attached on the resinfilm 2N (polyimide resin PI) further provides the following advantages.That is, when the metal film 500N is not present, since the resin film2N comprises polyimide resin, as shown in FIG. 106, an elongation iscaused due to absorbed moisture and the interval t between the contactpins 3 aN may changed. Therefore, the contact pins 3 aN cannot bebrought into contact with predetermined positions of the terminalelectrodes and an accurate electrical testing cannot be performed.According to the embodiment, by pasting the metal film 500N on the resinfilm 2N, the change in the interval t is reduced even with changes inthe humidity, whereby the contact pins 3 aN can firmly be brought intocontact with the predetermined positions of terminal electrodes.

FIG. 104 is a drawing showing the contact probe 1N cut in apredetermined shape so as to form an IC probe and FIG. 105 is asectional view taken along a line C-C of FIG. 104. As shown in FIG. 104,the resin film 2N is provided with the positioning holes 2 hN forinserting the rods 2 jN. As shown in FIGS. 102(a) and 102 (b) and FIG.105, the wiring patterns 3N are connected to an end portion of aflexible substrate (FPC) 9N via lead-out wirings 10N and the other endportion of the flexible substrate 9N is connected to a printed circuitboard 20N thereby constituting the probe device 70N.

In carrying out a probe test of an IC chip by using the probe device 70Nconstructed as described above, the probe device 70N is bonded to aprober and electrically connected to S a tester, predetermined electricsignals are sent to the IC chip on a wafer from the contact pins 3 aN ofthe wiring patterns 3N, whereby the output signals from the IC chip aretransmitted to the tester from the contact pins 3 aN and electricproperties of IC chip are measured. According to the probe device 70N ofthe present embodiment, a plurality of the contact probes 1N areprovided. Each probe 1N includes the contact pins 3 aN projecting fromthe resin film 2N. The axial lines of the contact pins 3 aN are arrangedto be substantially orthogonal to the contact face Pa of the terminalelectrodes P. The resin films 2N are arranged in parallel intervals withinterposing spacers 2 eN. Accordingly, the device can correspond toplanarly arranged terminals and a multi pin formation can be realized.In this case, according to the embodiment, the material of the wiringpatterns 3N (contact pin 3 aN) is Ni or a Ni alloy. Therefore, ascompared with the conventional device using tungsten, the contact pins 3aN are flexible even if they are arranged substantially vertically. Inthis way, the contact of all pins, including long the short pins 3 aN,with the terminal electrodes P can be ensured.

Also, by conducting the half-etching at a predetermined position of themetal film 500N at the back side of the contact pin 3 aN, the directionsfor bending and the positions for bending of the contact pins 3 aN inthe overdriving operation can be made to be the same as each other andthe pin is highly flexible by a smaller buckling load. Accordingly,contiguous ones of the contact pins 3 aN can be prevented from beingerroneously brought into contact with each other. In addition, althoughaccording to the forty-first embodiment, the probe device 70N is used asa probe card, the device may be adapted to be used in other measurementjigs, etc. For example, device may be used in a socket, etc. for testingan IC chip wherein the socket protects the IC chip by holding the ICchip therein and wherein the socket is mounted in a device for a burn-intest of the IC chip, etc.

A forty-second embodiment will now be described with reference to FIG.107. According to a probe device of the present embodiment, the contactprobe 1N is supported by a couple of spacers 2 ea and 2 eb from bothface sides of the resin film 2N. With respect to one of the pair of thespacers 2 ea, a length in the axial line direction of the wiringpatterns 3N is formed to be longer than that of the other spacer 2 eb.Further, the other spacer 2 eb is provided contiguous to the metal film500N and with respect to the metal film 500N, a front end side that isnot brought into contact with (supported by) the other spacer 2 eb, issubjected to half-etching (refer to two dotted chain line). According tothe embodiment, the contact pin 3 aN is not bent toward the face of theresin film 2N supported by the longer one of the spacer 2 ea (left sidein the drawing) but is necessarily bent to the side of the resin filmsupported by the shorter one of the spacer 2 eb (right side in thedrawing). Therefore, the direction of bending can be made constant.Furthermore, the support force of the respective resin film 2N can beadjusted by the magnitudes of the lengths of the spacers 2 ea and 2 eb.Accordingly, the bending amount can also be made constant. Thereby, boththe bending direction and the bending amount can be adjusted to beconstant. In addition, a second resin film may further and directly beattached on the face of the metal film 500N in contact with the otherspacer 2 eb. Thereby, in tightening the contact probe in the integratingoperation of the contact probe 1N by the spacers 2 ea and 2 eb, theoperation and the effect where the spacer constitutes a buffer member,is provided. Accordingly, damage which the wiring patterns 3N suffer inthe integrating operation can be alleviated.

A forty-third embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS.108(a), 108(b) and 108(c). According to the embodiment, a punched-outregion 2 kN in a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial linesof the wiring patterns 3N is provided in the resin film 2N. Theformation of the punched-out region 2 kN is performed by etching apredetermined portion of the metal film 500N and irradiating a laserbeam on the portion so that the resin film 2N and the adhesive agent(not shown) are removed. According to the embodiment, compared withother regions of the resin film 2N where the wiring patterns 3N areformed, a force for supporting the wiring patterns 3N is weakened due tothe punched-out region 2 kN. Accordingly, in the overdriving operationthe wiring patterns 3N (contact pin 3 aN) are bent at the portion of thepunched-out region 2 kN. Thereby, the bending position can be madeconstant and the pin can be made flexible. Furthermore, a force of theresin film 2N for supporting the wiring patterns 3N is weakenedapproximately in a constant relationship to the punched-out region 2 kN.Accordingly, the amount of bending of the wiring patterns 3N can be madesubstantially constant.

According to a forty-fourth embodiment (not illustrated), the resin film2N is bent centering on a virtual line substantially orthogonal to theaxial lines of the wiring patterns 3N.

That is, a portion of the resin film 2N lower than the portion supportedby the spacer 2 eN is bent by using a jig, etc. so that the resin filmis elastically bent. Thereby, the contact pins 3 aN are bent centeringon the imaginary lines of the resin films 2N and long or short ones ofthe total of pins 3 aN can firmly be brought into contact withterminals.

A forty-fifth embodiment will now be described with reference to FIG.109. According to the embodiment, the photomask used in the patternforming step, is formed such that the shape at a portion correspondingto the contact pin 3 aN is bent at a middle portion X in the axial linedirection. By using the photomask, with respect to the photoresist layer(mask) which has been subjected to mask exposure and development, theshape of the portion corresponding to the contact pin 3 aN in theunmasked portions is formed to be bent at the middle position X in theaxial line direction. Furthermore, the contact pin 3 aN fabricated by aNi plating treatment thereafter, is formed to be bent at the middleportion X in the axial line direction. Therefore, in the overdrivingoperation, the pin is bent at the bending point X. In this case, sincethe mask exposure technology is used, with respect to the bending pointX of the contact pin 3 aN, adjustment of the bending angle or the pinwidth can be performed accurately. As a result, the direction and theamount of the bending can be controlled accurately. Furthermore, thephotomask can be repeatedly used after it is prepared. Accordingly,compared with the device where, for example, the pin 3 aN and the resinfilm 2N are bent by using jigs, etc. after fabricating the contact pin 3aN, products with high accuracy can be produced in a large amount.Furthermore, compared with products where, for example, half-etching orpin bending is performed after fabricating the contact pin 3 aN, onlythe mask shape is changed according to the present embodiment.

Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the presentinvention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is thereforeto be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, theinvention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically describedherein.

1. A probe device comprising: a film; a plurality of wiring patternsformed on a first surface of the film, each wiring pattern having afront end portion projecting from the film to form contact pins; a metallayer provided on a second surface of the film; a first spacer incontact with the first surface of said film, said first spacersupporting said contact pins and arranged to control a bending directionof said contact pins; and, a second spacer in contact with said metallayer.
 2. The probe device recited in claim 1, wherein said first spaceris longer than said second spacer.
 3. The probe device recited in claim2, wherein said first spacer is arranged to control a bending amount ofthe contact pins.
 4. The probe device recited in claim 3, wherein saidmetal layer comprises a half-etched portion.
 5. The probe device recitedin claim 4, further comprising a second film between said metal layerand said second spacer.
 6. The probe device recited in claim 1, whereinsaid first spacer is arranged to control a bending amount of the contactpins.
 7. The probe device recited in claim 1, wherein said metal layercomprises a half-etched portion.
 8. The probe device recited in claim 1,further comprising a second film between said metal layer and saidsecond spacer.